Last Year, Global Eco-Friendly Vehicle Sales Reach Record High of 5.27 Million Units... Hyundai Kia Motors Ranked 4th

'Hybrid Leader' Toyota Tops with 1.98 Million Units
Hyundai Kia Ranks 3rd in HEV and 4th in EV

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] Hyundai Kia Motors ranked 4th in global electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle sales last year, following its position in 2018. Hybrid vehicle sales rose one rank from 4th in 2018 to 3rd, while electric vehicles climbed from 6th to 4th during the same period.

According to the "2019 Global Electric Power Vehicle Sales Status and Implications" report published by the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) on the 6th, sales of electric power vehicles?including electric vehicles (BEV), hybrids (HEV), plug-in hybrids (PHEV), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV)?increased by 14.4% year-on-year to 5.27 million units in 2019, reaching an all-time high. Despite an overall 3.9% decline in total vehicle sales during this period, electric power vehicle sales grew, accounting for 5.7% of global vehicle sales.

Toyota, recognized as a leader in the electric power vehicle market, maintained a dominant 1st place with a 37.2% share (1.98 million units). Toyota particularly led the HEV market, capturing 60.6% (1.92 million units) of global sales. However, as competitors continue to launch HEV models, Toyota's market share, which was 71.2% in 2015, has declined to 64.9% in 2017 and 62.1% in 2018.

Notably, Tesla surged to 2nd place worldwide, up from 5th the previous year, driven by strong sales of the Model 3. Tesla maintained the top spot in the electric vehicle segment for two consecutive years. Following Tesla, Honda secured 3rd place with strong sales of new hybrid models such as the CR-V.

Hyundai Kia Motors took 4th place. The company’s electric power vehicle sales increased by 25.1% year-on-year to 350,000 units. HEV sales rose 32.7% to 220,000 units, and electric vehicle sales grew 14.5% to 130,000 units.

In the electric vehicle market alone, Tesla ranked 1st for two consecutive years, followed by China’s BYD with 190,000 units, down 11.5%, in 2nd place, and BMW with 150,000 units, up 2.5%, in 3rd place. Hyundai Kia Motors, which was outside the top 10 in 2016 and 2017, rose to 4th place last year. KAMA analyzed that "sales of electric power vehicles by country depended on subsidies and infrastructure, while brand sales were influenced by competitive models."

Regionally, Europe (EU, EFTA, UK) saw sales increase by 51.1% year-on-year to 1.5 million units due to active subsidy policies and new vehicle launches by automakers responding to stricter environmental regulations. HEV models accounted for 940,000 units, and electric vehicles for 560,000 units. As a result, Europe surpassed China to become the top-selling region with a 28.4% share of the global market. Conversely, China’s sales growth slowed to 1.31 million units (310,000 HEVs, 1.01 million electric vehicles) due to reduced electric vehicle purchase subsidies. Japan ranked 3rd with 1.14 million units (1.1 million HEVs, 40,000 electric vehicles), down 0.5%.

By vehicle type, HEV models showed remarkable growth. With various models released, sales increased 20.6% year-on-year to 3.17 million units, marking the highest growth rate since 2015. In contrast, electric vehicles, which had seen a steep average annual growth rate of 36.8% over four years since 2015, grew only 6.1% to 2.1 million units due to subsidy reductions in China, the largest market.

Jung Man-ki, Chairman of KAMA, stated, “Considering that electric power vehicle sales by country depend on whether subsidies are provided, subsidies must be continuously offered to expand electric power vehicle sales.”

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