(December 24, 2010) FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. — Hyundai has sold more than 200,000 Sonatas in North America in 2010, a high point for the Sonata nameplate in a record-setting year in which Hyundai will sell more than 530,000 vehicles in the United States and more than 110,000 in Canada for the first time ever.

“Sonata has delivered some pretty incredible results for us this year,” says John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America president and CEO. “Sonata is the Hyundai brand and it’s appropriate that it has led our best year ever. Sonata’s innovation has reset the most hotly contested, largest segment in the U.S. car market, with Sonata delivering more year-over-year retail sales growth — about 90,000 units — more than any other car in the entire industry.”

“The Sonata has been an integral part of Hyundai’s transformation in Canada,” says Steve Kelleher, President and CEO of Hyundai Auto Canada Corp. “The effort our designers put into craft a dynamic looking car is paying off as Canadians have begun to claim that design is one of their top purchase reasons for Sonata. 2010 has been a record year for us and Sonata has carried us to this point.”

Most importantly, Sonata is driving traffic in Hyundai showrooms. Sonata has helped Hyundai achieve its record sales of more than 530,000 units in the U.S. in 2010 a

Hyundai brand’s “net consideration” among buyers is at an all-time high. According to market research firm Compete, Sonata was the most-shopped car in the market for six of the past seven months, helping Hyundai to a record 4.7 percent share of the U.S. market through November 2010.

“This car has meant so much to the success of our brand and our dealers,” says Krafcik. “While cars like Camry and Accord spend more than 50 days on a dealer lot, Sonata leads the segment in ‘days-to-turn’ through the first three quarters. The average Sonata is sold in 16 days.”

More than 70 percent of Sonata buyers previously owned a brand other than Hyundai with more than 20 percent coming from Honda, Toyota and Nissan.