South Korean Automakers Strong In July Amid Weak Overall Market

South Korean Automaker Hyundai HYMLF had a strong July for both its Hyundai and Kia brands despite a weak market. Overall U.S. car sales saw a decrease in July amid South Korea's strong month. German automaker BMW also saw a sharp decline in sales last month. Korean automakers continue to see healthy 2016 sales growth.

Kia Motors saw a unit sales increase of 6.5 percent in the month, with a total unit sales coming in at 59,969. Hyundai experienced similar growth in July, with a 5.6 percent increase in unit sales to 75,003.

Related Link: Most Automakers Report U.S. Sales Decline During July

Notable July Model Sales Growth

• Hyundai Santa Fe - +23 percent
• Hyundai Tucson - +98 percent
• Kia Forte - +31 percent
• Kia Rio - +50 percent

Meanwhile, German automaker BMW BMWYY had a disappointing month of July, seeing a 5% drop in unit sales to 30,551. Year-to-date, Hyundai sales are up 1.6 percent, Kia is up 5.7 percent, while BMW is down 9.5 percent.

Korean automakers have continued to increase their product quality and consumers are taking notice. Hyundai "sky rocketed in a survey of new vehicle quality in the U.S." by JD Power and Associates on Initial Quality. The same survey saw Japanese automakers fall below the average marker for the first time in 29 years.