Hyundai Motor Group’s share of UK car market share grows to 11%

Hyundai Motor Group is accelerating sales growth in the UK, the second largest country in terms of new car demand in Europe. In the first 10 months of CY2023, the Korean carmaker has achieved its best performance of the year in the UK yet, with eco-friendly cars at the forefront of its sales. 

According to the Society of British Motor Manufacturers (SMMT), Hyundai Motor Group's three auto brands – Hyundai Motors, Kia, and Genesis – recorded the highest performance in the UK car (passenger car) market from January to October this year compared to the same period last year. It sold 173,428 units, an 8.7% increase, recording a market share of 10.8 percent. If the cumulative sales growth rate through October of this year is maintained until the end of the year, Hyundai Motor Group's UK sales this year are expected to surpass the record high of 186,625 units in 2017. Last year, annual sales were 181,610 units.

Brand-wise, Hyundai Motor Company sold a cumulative 75,456 units in October this year, ranking eighth in the British market where more than 45 brands compete. After spending 2021 and 2022 ranked ninth, up four places from 13th in 2020, it is expected that the ranking will be raised one place this year. Hyundai Motor Company's flagship model is the SUV Tucson, which ranked sixth in the UK's best-selling car with 29,990 units sold between January and October 2023.

Kia ranks fourth in the UK with 96,784 units sold during the same period. Following ninth place in 2020, eighth in 2021, and sixth in 2022, it has steadily increased its sales ranking and leapt to become the top local automobile brand. The Kia SUV Sportage leads Kia's activity in the UK, ranking fourth in the UK car sales ranking with 31,575 units sold between January and October this year.

Genesis, which launched locally in 2021, sold 1,188 units from January to October of this year, achieving annual sales of 1,000 units for the second consecutive year since last year. Genesis is Hyundai Motor Group's luxury brand and is actively targeting the UK, Europe's representative automobile market.

Hyundai Motor Group's good sales performance in the UK is seen as the result of its effective targeting of the UK market, which is rapidly being reorganized around eco-friendly cars.

According to SMMT, of the 1,605,437 units sold in the UK car market from January to October this year, the three types of eco-friendly cars, including electric vehicles (BEV), hybrids (HEV), and plug-in hybrids (PHEV), accounted for 36.0% (577,895 units). It was found to be an increase of 3.5% points compared to the same period last year. In contrast, the proportion of gasoline vehicles decreased from 43.4% in January to October 2022 to 41.0% in the same period this year, and the proportion of diesel vehicles decreased from 5.5% to 3.9% during the same period. In detail, the cumulative share of eco-friendly cars in the UK car market as of October this year was 16.3% for electric cars, 12.6% for hybrids, and 7.1% for plug-in hybrids.

Hyundai Motor Group states that it has been actively increasing sales of EVs and hybrids by expanding its lineup by participating in the market shift toward electrification. Hyundai Motor Group's sales of eco-friendly vehicles (BEV+HEV) in the UK from January to October this year were 80,442 units, a YoY increase of 6.7 percent. During the period, EV sales increased by 4.2% to 28,456 units, and hybrid vehicles increased by 8.2% to 51,986 units.

Hyundai Motor Group's sales of eco-friendly cars in the UK are continuing to grow this year, following 36,750 units in 2020, 61,706 units in 2021, and 86,294 units in 2022.

In 2020, Hyundai Motor Company and Genesis expanded the range of electric vehicles from only 2 types, Ioniq EV (now discontinued) and Kona EV, to 6 types. Following the introduction of the dedicated electric vehicle IONIQ 5 in 2021, the IONIQ 6 was launched locally the following year, and in 2022, three Genesis electric vehicles (GV60, GV70 EV, GV80 EV) were launched in the UK. This year, the company is actively seeking to expand sales in the UK by completely changing the Kona EV from the first generation to the second generation. In the case of hybrids, we are actively responding to the diverse demands of local customers by building a HEV lineup that focuses on small cars such as Ioniq and Kona, and encompasses small to medium-sized cars such as Kona, Tucson, and Santa Fe.

Kia also expanded its electric vehicle lineup, which only had two models, the Soul EV and Niro EV in 2020, to four models by introducing the EV6 in 2021 and the EV9 at the end of this year. With the introduction of the Sportage HEV in 2022, hybrid hybrids are also building a broader lineup that includes Ceed, Niro, Sportage, and Sorento, leading to the choice of local consumers.

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), the UK accounted for 15.0% of Europe's total automotive (passenger vehicle) industrial demand as of the third quarter of this year, trailing first place Germany (22.1%) and third place France (13.3%). is ahead of the curve. Compared to the annual market share in 2022, Germany and France's cumulative market share in the third quarter of this year fell by 1.4 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively, while the UK's share increased by 0.7 percentage points, strengthening its position in the European automobile industry.

Hyundai-Kia share of India PV market at 20.61%

In India, which is among the fastest growing passenger vehicle markets in the world, the Hyundai Motor Group, comprising Hyundai Motor India and Kia India has recorded cumulative sales of 507,170 units in the April-October 2023 period, up 3.86% YoY. This translates into a 20.61% share of India’s overall passenger vehicle market which saw total wholesales of 24,59,877 units in the first seven months of the ongoing fiscal year 2024. While Hyundai Motor India, with 3,62,203 units (up 8.76% YoY) has a 14.72% share of the total market, Kia India with 1,44,967 units (down 6.64% YoY) has a 5.89% PV market share.

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