Hyundai Kia Motors Overcame COVID Crisis, Expected to Achieve Highest U.S. Market Share in 8 Years Last Year

Hyundai Kia Motors' US Sales Down 7.6% Last Year
Outperforms Other Brands with Double-Digit Declines
Strong SUV Sales Shield Against COVID Crisis
Hyundai Achieves Record Annual SUV Sales

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Despite the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hyundai Kia Motors posted a solid performance in the U.S. market last year. It is expected to record the highest market share in eight years by reducing the decline compared to competitors such as Japanese and German brands.

On the 6th, Hyundai Kia Motors announced that it sold 1,224,816 units in the U.S. market last year, down 7.6% from the previous year. Hyundai Motor Company (including Genesis) sold 638,711 units, a 10% decrease, while Kia Motors recorded a 4.8% decrease with 586,105 units sold. During the same period, other brands recorded double-digit declines, but Hyundai Kia Motors succeeded in defense with a single-digit decline rate.

Japanese car brands such as Toyota (-11.3%), Honda (-16.3%), Nissan (-33.2%), as well as German car brands like Volkswagen (-12.2%) and BMW (-18%) were directly hit by COVID-19 in the U.S. market last year. Hyundai Kia Motors was able to reduce the relative decline by strengthening its sport utility vehicle (SUV) lineup and reorganizing its dealer network.

Randy Parker, Vice President of Sales at Hyundai Motor America, said, "With swift measures against COVID-19 and a strong product lineup, we were able to outperform other brands in retail sales and market share growth over the past year."

According to automotive market research firm Wards Intelligence, Hyundai Kia Motors’ market share in the U.S. reached 8.6% through November last year, the highest in eight years since 2012 (8.72%). Considering that Hyundai Kia Motors’ monthly sales in December also increased by 4% year-on-year, an annual market share at the highest level in eight years is expected.

In 2012, Hyundai’s flagship model Sonata (YF) consistently gained popularity in the U.S. market, and the full operation of Kia Motors’ Georgia plant, which began production in 2009, was in full swing from 2012, raising Hyundai Kia Motors’ market share to 8.72%.

The driving force behind Hyundai Kia Motors’ strong performance last year was SUVs. Hyundai Kia Motors’ SUV sales increased by 5.2% year-on-year to 772,386 units. In particular, Hyundai Motor Company set a new sales record by filling 64% of its annual sales with SUVs. Large SUVs favored by U.S. consumers gained popularity, with the Palisade selling about three times more than the previous year at 82,661 units. The Telluride recorded sales of 75,129 units, a 28% increase.

Based on December monthly sales, Hyundai Kia Motors sold 123,210 units, an increase of about 4%, and SUV sales surged by nearly 20%. The best-selling model for the month was Hyundai’s Santa Fe, which sold over 10,000 units, closely followed by Kia’s Telluride with 9,824 units.

This year, Hyundai Kia Motors will accelerate its U.S. market strategy by producing the new Tucson at its local plant in Alabama. It plans to strengthen its eco-friendly lineup by launching the Tucson Hybrid, Santa Fe Hybrid, and the Ioniq 5, which is built on an electric vehicle-dedicated platform.

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