Grandeur Joins the '100,000 Units Club' Already... Porter and Santa Fe Show 'Sluggish' Sales

Grandeur Surpasses 100,000 Units in 8 Months
Traditional Leaders Sonata, Santa Fe, Porter Show 'Sluggish' Performance

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Hyundai Motor's Grandeur is expected to be the only model to achieve the '100,000-unit club' in the domestic car market this year. Until last year, models like Sonata, Santa Fe, and Porter were chasing Grandeur until the end of the year, aiming for 'annual sales of 100,000 units,' but this year Grandeur is running solo.

According to the industry on the 25th, Grandeur sold 113,810 units from January to September this year, becoming the best-selling model in the domestic car market. Having already entered the '100,000-unit club' early in August, Grandeur continues to show strong popularity in the second half of the year, aiming to surpass the 'annual 150,000 units' record. Since the waiting demand has continued for nearly a year since its launch at the end of last year, how much supply will be made in the future is expected to be the key factor.

On the other hand, models like Sonata and Porter, which have been named best-selling models every year along with Grandeur, are facing red lights in achieving 100,000 units this year. Sonata, which entered the 100,000-unit club last year along with Grandeur, has only sold 52,370 units up to last month this year. Porter, which ranked third in domestic car sales, recorded 71,347 units. Although about three months remain this year, considering recent sales trends, it seems unlikely that both models will exceed 100,000 units within the year.

Santa Fe's performance is also disappointing. Santa Fe, which joined the 100,000-unit club in 2018 as the first sports utility vehicle (SUV), sold 43,100 units up to September this year. In particular, although the facelift model of the 4th generation Santa Fe began full-scale sales from July, the response has not met expectations. Considering that the average monthly sales since July are around 5,000 units, it is expected that this year’s performance will fall short of last year’s (86,198 units).

Models that are performing better than expected are Kia's K5 and Sorento. The cumulative sales of these two models until last month exceeded 60,000 units, following Grandeur. However, even these models are insufficient to sell 100,000 units this year.

An industry official said, "Recently, the new car launch cycle has shortened and the lineup has diversified, reducing the concentration on specific models," adding, "This year, both domestic and imported car industries are releasing a series of completely new models, creating an atmosphere where demand is divided according to preferences."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.