8 June 2009 - Hyundai sales continue to surge ahead despite the challenging times with nearly one in ten new passenger cars sold in May being a Hyundai. Hyundai ranked a strong third for the month, out selling the likes of Mazda and Nissan.

On the back of continued demand for vehicles like the multi-award winning i30, the value packed Getz and New Zealand's most fuel efficient SUV*, the Santa Fe, Hyundai finished third in the month of May for passenger car sales with 392 retails for a 9.85 per cent share of the market. When sales of the award winning H1 van were included, Hyundai also finished third in the overall vehicle market in May with 443 sales for an 8.37 per cent of the overall market.

Hyundai is now firmly in fifth place year to date as far as both passenger car sales and the overall vehicle market is concerned with sales totaling 2,095 for a 7.47 per cent share of the market. This is up from this time last year which had Hyundai sitting at ninth with 5.21 percent market share overall.

"This is a good, strong result for us," said Philip Eustace executive director of Hyundai Motors New Zealand.

"It's great to see Hyundai continuing to climb up the sales ladder in what has been a tough and challenging year. It's a competitive market and to grow our share speaks volume for our excellent product, customer service and our market suited consumer initiatives like our recently unveiled Hyundai Assurance."

Globally, sales of Hyundai vehicles are steady at 251,340 YTD May, down just -0.4 per cent compared to last year in a volatile market that has seen GM file for bankruptcy and other once strong brands seek alliances and government loans to survive. Despite this, Korean domestic sales rose 15.4 percent - the first lift since May last year, thanks in part to a local government tax incentive.