Hailed as a jump-start for the U.S. economy, the federal government's "cash for clunkers" gave the biggest boost to foreign automakers.
Overall, auto sales in August were the highest in more than a year, according to industry figures released Tuesday. Carmakers sold more than 1.2 million cars and trucks, up 1% from the same month last year and the first year-over-year sales gain since August 2007.
Much of that was a result of the clunkers program, which ran July 24 to Aug. 24 and provided hefty government rebates to consumers who traded in gas guzzlers for more fuel-efficient new vehicles.
Foreign automakers dominated the trade, accounting for 61.4% of the nearly 700,000 vehicles sold under the program. Japanese makers grabbed the biggest share, with 47% of the total, thanks to popular gas sippers such as the Toyota Prius and the Honda Fit.
But it was the scrappy South Koreans that provided the biggest sales surprise.
Hyundai, which has worked to make up ground against bigger rivals this year with innovative marketing programs and new model offerings, reported an eye-popping 47% increase in August sales. Corporate cousin Kia reported a 60% jump.
Thirteen of Hyundai's 16 models qualified for the program, which helped it sell 49,600 vehicles in the clunkers initiative, or 7.2% of all program sales, according to government figures. That was much more than Hyundai's first-half U.S. market share of 4.3% and helped it creep closer to the three U.S. and three Japanese automakers that rule U.S. showrooms. Last month Hyundai sold almost 60,500 cars.
The company did it with the help of aggressive marketing tied to the recession, its early embrace of the clunkers program and favorable publicity from a string of awards from auto critics. Analysts said the strong showing, coming in one of the auto industry's bleakest periods, could turn out to be Hyundai's big break in the U.S. market.
"We used to call them the Big Six, but now all of our files say 'the Big Seven,' " said Jesse Toprak, vice president of industry trends at auto website TrueCar. "We've added Hyundai."
Ford Motor Co., the No. 2 U.S. carmaker, reported a 17% rise in August sales compared with a year ago, the second straight month the automaker has reported higher sales.
"Back-to-back sales increases has a nice ring to it," Ford sales analyst George Pipas said in a conference call.
Chrysler Group and General Motors Co. didn't fare as well.
