Hyundai-Kia Passes Ford for Global No. 5 Spot

The Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group posted a 15.9 percent gain in units sold for the first half of 2011 to move into fifth place among global automakers, said the Korea Automotive Research Institute.

The two carmakers recorded the fastest growth among the world’s top nine carmakers for combined sales of 3.19 million cars during the first six months. That represents a 15.9 percent surge from the 2.75 million sold in the same period of 2010.

Toyota’s sales plunged 17.9 percent due to production delays caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami as well as lingering concerns about its widespread recalls in 2010. Its sales ranking fell from first to third place while General Motors climbed from the second to the top spot on sales of 4.64 million units. Volkswagen moved up from third place to second with sales of 4.09 million. Renault-Nissan was fourth with 3.43 million while Ford slipped to sixth place with 2.40 million cars sold.

The global total of car sales for the first six months of this year rose 5.8 percent to 36.71 million on the strength of emerging economies like China, India, Brazil and Russia. U.S. auto sales are expected to be around 12.5 million for 2011, substantially below peak sales of around 17 million in 2005.