Seoul, May 4 (IANS) Sales of Hyundai Motor and Kia vehicles in the United States fell slightly from a year earlier, while numbers for hybrid vehicles rose to a new monthly high, the automaker said on Monday.

The South Korean automakers sold a combined 159,216 vehicles in the key American market in April, down 2.1 percent on-year, according to the companies.

Hyundai Motor sold 86,513 units, down 1.5 percent from the previous year, reports Yonhap news agency.

Its luxury vehicle brand Genesis sold 6,356 units, up 0.8 percent on-year. Kia’s sales declined by 2.8 percent from the previous year to 72,703 units.

The overall sales decline was due to a base effect from a sales surge last year, as customers rushed to purchase cars ahead of the imposition of Washington’s auto tariffs, according to the company.

Sales of eco-friendly cars, including electric vehicles (EVs), however, rose 47.6 percent on-year to 48,425 units.

Demand for hybrid cars also grew by the sharpest 57.8 percent on-year, affected by the U.S. government’s decision to terminate EV tax credits.

EV sales rose slightly by 7.7 percent to 7,186 units, according to the carmakers.

Meanwhile, online shopping sales in South Korea rose 13.3 per cent from a year earlier to a new monthly high in March, driven by strong demand for Tesla vehicles and transactions in food services, government data showed on Monday.

The value of online shopping stood at 25.58 trillion won (US$17.37 billion) in March, up 3.03 trillion won from a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

The figure marked the highest monthly level since 2017, when the ministry began compiling related data.

Spending on automobiles and auto accessories surged 109.9 percent from a year earlier, supported by Tesla models sold through online ordering systems.

Sales of food services climbed 14.2 percent from a year earlier, while that of food and beverages jumped 13.3 percent on-year, the latest findings showed.

Purchases made through smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices rose 11.6 percent from a year earlier to 19.4 trillion won, also setting a new record.

—IANS

na/