US sales of Hyundai Palisade SUV exceed 500,000 units

Seoul, April 20 (IANS) Hyundai Motor, South Korea's top automaker, said on Sunday it has sold over 500,000 units of the Palisade sport utility vehicle (SUV) in the United States, as automakers scramble to navigate the global trade turmoil.

The cumulative sales of the Palisade in the United States reached 506,425 units as of the end of last month, according to Hyundai's sales data.

Hyundai Motor launched the first-generation Palisade SUV in the U.S. market six years ago in 2019. The second-generation model is set to be released there later this year, reports Yonhap news agency.

In 2024, about two-thirds of the Palisade's global sales of 165,745 units came from the U.S. market.

Citing the U.S. as the "world's most competitive SUV market," Hyundai said it will further boost sales there with a diversified SUV lineup composed of the Tucson, Santa Fe and Palisade models.

Of 4.02 million vehicles sold in the U.S. in the January-March period, 3.12 million units, or 78 percent, were SUVs and other multipurpose vehicles, according to automotive sales data firm MarkLines.

The second-generation Palisade SUV will be available in the world's most important automobile market in the second half of the year. Domestically, it was launched in January.

The new Palisade comes with a 3.5-liter gasoline engine or a 2.5-liter turbocharged gasoline hybrid engine for the U.S. market.

Hyundai plans to add the Palisade model with a gasoline hybrid engine and the Palisade XRT Pro model designed for off-road driving for U.S. customers in the second half.

In Korea, models with a 2.5-liter turbo gasoline engine or a 2.5-liter turbo gasoline hybrid engine have been launched.

At its CEO Investor Day held in August, Hyundai announced it will double the number of gasoline hybrid models to 14 by 2030 and increase that of EV models to 21 from six during the same period.

The company also said it aims to sell 2 million all-electric vehicles in global markets in 2030 despite a temporary slowdown in EV models.

But this year, market uncertainties have dramatically increased as U.S. President Donald Trump recently imposed 25 percent tariffs on imported vehicles.

In the January-March period, Hyundai's vehicle sales in the U.S. market jumped 10.1 percent on-year to 203,554 units, helped by SUV models.

—IANS

na/