Asian brands take lead in fleet sales

摘要

Asian automakers, led by Nissan Motor Co. and Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, are stepping up fleet sales, filling a void left by the Detroit 3's pullback. In the first quarter, Hyundai led all automakers in fleet sales, according to R.L. Polk & Co. Hyundai sold about 34 percent of its U.S. volume to fleets, counting the Hyundai and Kia brands, up about 7 percentage points from the first quarter of 2008.At Nissan, No. 2 in fleet sales, about 29 percent of sales were to fleets, an increase of 14 percentage points. "The Asian imports are stepping up their penetration of the fleet market," says Lonnie Miller, Polk's director of industry analysis. "Detroit is chilling right now. The Asians are seizing the opportunity."