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Hyundai, Kia ratchet up fleet sales as retail transactions slide

Automotive News reports both Hyundai and Kia have stepped up fleet sales in an attempt to offset disappointing first quarter results. The Korean automakers saw their sales decline by nine percent compared to last year, while all major competitors managed to increase their sales. That situation marks an inversion of two years ago, when both gained ground after Japanese rivals suffered production and inventory shortages after the country's earthquake and tsunami tragedies.
Now, Hyundai can't come up with enough volume models in popular trim configurations to satisfy buyers, and lower-volume models are also in a snag. At the moment, Hyundai can only build 20-30 percent of Veloster hatchbacks with turbocharged engines while the US market would apparently support closer to 70 percent.
In order to reverse the sales slide, Hyundai and Kia have stepped up fleet sales of the vehicles they do have by some 50 percent, ringing up a total of 42,400 units in the first quarter. By contrast, Automotive News reports the seven largest automakers increased retail volume by seven percent and fleet sales by four percent as a group.

2014 Kia Sorento

Big Changes Below, But Just A Little Off The Top
It happens all the time. Three or four years into an automobile's lifecycle, the manufacturer goes back to the drawing board, making what it hopes are vital improvements to keep its product at the top of the sales charts. It's true of the vehicle we're discussing today, the 2014 Kia Sorento, but unlike many midlife facelifts, most of what's new here can't be seen with the naked eye.
Yes, there are the normal changes to the front and rear fascias, and a few nips and tucks here and there to improve the crossover's outward appearance. But, for the first time in as long as we can remember, the big news here is that the new Sorento is actually riding atop a new platform, according to Kia.

K900 probably won't be last time Kia goes alphanumeric

This is part of an effort to ensure that the vehicle brand itself registers with consumers more than the model name.
The new Kia K900 luxury sedan stands as a four-wheeled flag in the ground of the financially fertile turf of the world's premium automakers. It's a bold move for a Korean manufacturer that was best known for inexpensive MSRPs and easy credit only a few years ago. The company has made sure it has the requisite trappings of premium motoring: indulgent size, rear-wheel drive, a powerful V8 engine, real wood trim and rich leather seats. It has also ensured the model has another important earmark of luxury - an alphanumeric name. These days, everyone from Audi to BMW to Cadillac to Lexus to Volvo rely on a jumble of letters and numbers to make up their model names. We've been told this is all part of an effort to ensure that the vehicle brand itself registers with consumers more than the model name.