Hyundai Motor’s market share in the US sport utility vehicle segment rose to a record high of 3.7 percent as of November, industry sources said Sunday. That marks the South Korean auto giant’s strongest showing since it entered the market in 2000.

Hyundai sold 271,377 SUVs between January and November, a 14.1 percent increase from the same period last year.

The company’s SUV market share had headed downward in recent years after peaking at 3.6 percent in 2009. The figure hit bottom in 2015 with 2.7 percent, but rebounded to 3.1 percent in 2016 and 3.3 percent last year.
 

Two Hyundai SUVs, the Tucson and the Kona, have led the growth, respectively selling 126,916 and 38,771 units, data showed.

The US auto market has showed signs of sluggish growth, but the steadily growing SUV sector is an exception. Around 7.43 million SUV units were sold last year, 2.5 times more than the 2.91 million figure recorded in 2009.

Hyundai’s slowing performance in the US in recent years has been blamed on a weak SUV lineup, but the company plans to target the market with the Palisade, a large SUV it launched last month. The first shipment of the Palisade is likely to reach the US by summer 2019.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)