Hyundai Motor Co., straining demand for its U.S.-built vehicles, may hand over production of its Santa Fe SUV to sister company Kia Motor Corp.  Hyundai builds the Santa Fe and the Sonata sedan at its sole U.S. plant, in Montgomery, Ala. Late last year, Kia opened its own U.S. factory 80 miles away, in West Point, Ga.  Robert Burns, a spokesman for Hyundai's manufacturing unit, said the plan is being evaluated in South Korea “as a way to get the most efficiency out of the two plants.  In April, Hyundai retailers sold 18,536 U.S.-built Sonatas and 5,917 Santa Fes from the plant.   That is near the factory's monthly production capacity, and the plant has been running 10-hour shifts, plus Saturday shifts. April sales for the brand were up 30 percent over April 2009.

Kia's U.S. plant produces the Kia Sorento SUV, which shares some components and U.S. suppliers with the Santa Fe. The Sorento is also in demand. The Georgia plant has produced more than 50,000 Sorentos since opening less than six months ago.  Kia and Hyundai remain competitors despite being commonly owned by the Hyundai Group. Until recently, their products were produced in separate plants despite some sharing of common components on their global platforms.  Early this year, a Kia factory in Slovakia began producing the European version of the Hyundai Tucson. Kia modeled its Georgia plant closely after the Slovakian factory.  About 50 miles away in the Czech Republic, a Hyundai plant opened in 2009 to produce both the Hyundai i30 and Kia Venga small cars. Both U.S. plants were built to produce 300,000 vehicles a year.

Ford Motor Co. posted net income of $2.1 billion in the first quarter, almost twice the figure projected by analysts, fueled by a 37 percent rise in U.S. sales.  The profit compared with a loss of $1.4 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose to $28.1 billion from $24.4 billion. The automaker said it will boost second-quarter production.  The results prompted Ford to advance its forecast for becoming “solidly profitable” to this year instead of 2011.    "Our plan is working, and the basic engine that drives our business results -- products, market share, revenue, and cost structure -- is performing stronger each quarter, even as the economy and vehicle demand remain relatively soft," CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.  Ford expects to build 625,000 vehicles in North America this quarter, 30,000 more than its previous guidance and 194,000 units above the year-earlier total.