Hyundai’s Tucson dethrones Avante as best-selling vehicle in January

Hyundai Motor’s small sport utility vehicle (SUV) Tucson is more likely to become a new best-selling model of the South Korean top automaker, dethroning its flagship compact sedan Avante, reflecting a global trend toward SUVs.

According to sources on Monday, Hyundai Motor sold 51,784 units of Tucson versus 48,670 units of Avante in the global market in January. The SUV is widely expected to replace Avante as the South Korean automaker’s best-selling car in the global market this year, given the growing popularity of recreational vehicles at home and abroad.

Hyundai Motor’s Avante - better known as Elantra or i35 overseas - has been its top seller for many years in major markets including Korea, the United States, and China. According to global automobile market researcher Best Selling Cars Blog, Avante ranked as the world’s fourth best-selling car in 2015 with sales of 913,152 units. In 2016, the compact sedan ranked third with sales of 879,224 units, trailing behind Toyota’s Corolla and Ford’s F-Series. It was the first time for a Hyundai Motor vehicle to rank as one of the top three best-selling vehicles in the world.

Demand for Hyundai Motor’s Tucson, however, has grown in recent years as global consumers seek more leisure- and family-friendly crossover vehicles. Industry analysts expect the SUV to replace Avante in terms of global sales this year.

In 2015, Tucson ranked 21st in the world’s best-selling car list with sales of 580,614 units. The SUV joined the top 10 list in 2016 before ranking eighth last year with sales of 743,635 units, beating rival models of Honda’s HR-V and CR-V and Toyota’s RAV4. Among the top SUVs in terms of global sales, Tucson ranked second to Nissan’s X-Trail.

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