Hyundai Motor, Declared as 'Eco-Friendly Top Tier,' Surpasses 500,000 Cumulative Sales in the US

Hyundai Motor Group Reaches 500,000 Cumulative Sales of Eco-Friendly Vehicles in the U.S.
110,000 Units Sold Last Year... 11 Years Since U.S. Sales Began

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] "This year, we will emerge as a top-tier eco-friendly brand."

The promise made by Chung Eui-sun, Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, to firmly establish the foundation of a ‘trusted top-tier eco-friendly brand’ in his New Year's message is becoming visible in the global market. It has been 11 years since they started selling eco-friendly vehicles in 2011, and they have now achieved cumulative sales of 500,000 eco-friendly vehicles in the U.S. automotive market.

According to Hyundai Motor Group on the 28th, last month Hyundai Motor Company (including the luxury brand Genesis) sold 8,815 units, and Kia sold 6,403 units, totaling 15,218 units, bringing the total number of eco-friendly vehicles sold in the U.S. market to 508,599 units.

By type, hybrid models (including plug-in hybrids) sold over the 11 years since 2011 amounted to 461,297 units, the highest number. Electric vehicles, which began sales in 2014, totaled 46,336 units, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (Nexo), first launched in the U.S. in 2018, accounted for 966 units.

By model, the Sonata Hybrid was the best-selling with 147,661 units. The second was also a hybrid, the Niro (112,568 units), followed by the Ioniq Hybrid (76,134 units) in third place.

Among electric vehicles, the Niro EV (16,256 units), Kona Electric (12,129 units), and Soul EV (6,277 units) were the most popular choices among U.S. consumers.

The number of eco-friendly vehicle models was only two in 2011, but now it has increased to a total of 13 models (9 Hyundai, 4 Kia), including 7 hybrid (including plug-in hybrid) models, 5 electric vehicles, and 1 hydrogen fuel cell vehicle.

Sales increased from 13,491 units in 2011 to 37,158 units in 2013 but then stagnated before making a leap to 55,681 units in 2017. This was influenced by the expansion to six eco-friendly models in 2017.

Sales declined to 51,445 units in 2018 and 44,426 units in 2019, and in 2020, possibly due to the direct impact of COVID-19, sales dropped to 39,024 units.

After the slump, sales began to recover from last year. They recorded a 183.5% increase compared to the previous year, selling 110,634 units. This is attributed to the introduction of the hybrid model of the Avante, which won ‘North American Car of the Year’ twice, followed by the addition of new hybrid models of SUVs such as the Tucson, Santa Fe, and Sorento, as well as the first launch of the electric vehicle Ioniq 5 and the full-scale expansion of Niro EV sales.

The brands Hyundai Motor is counting on this year are electric vehicles such as the Ioniq 5, EV6, and Niro EV. The Ioniq 5 sold only 153 units in its first month of sales in the U.S. last December, but sales rose to 989 units in January this year and reached a record monthly high of 2,555 units for Hyundai Motor Group’s electric vehicles in February. The EV6 also sold 2,125 units immediately after its first launch in the U.S. last month, and the Niro EV sold a record 1,180 units after its U.S. launch last month.

The share of eco-friendly vehicle sales in the U.S. market has surpassed 10%. Among Hyundai Motor Group’s U.S. sales of 199,086 units from January to February this year, eco-friendly vehicles accounted for 26,009 units, marking a record high share of 13.1%.

For Kia, the share of eco-friendly vehicles surged sharply last month when the EV6 was launched. While the share of eco-friendly vehicle sales was 7.9% in January this year, it reached 13.0% in February, achieving double-digit share for the first time in history.

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