Hyundai quadruples sales of eco-friendly cars in US

Hyundai Motor Co. has sold more than four times of eco-friendly cars in the US compared to last year. The company said on Aug. 5 that the number of its hydrogen, electric and hybrid cars sold in America this year up to July was 41,813 units, a sharp growth from 10,111 units during the same period in 2020.  

Hyundai’s sister company Kia Corp. also sold 19,320 units of eco-friendly cars in the US between January and July, up 94.8% from the first seven months of 2020. The combined sales figure of Hyundai and Kia at 61,133 units marked a 205.2% growth from the same period last year.

By car type, hybrid models accounted for the vast majority with 50,610 units. Electric vehicles (EVs) followed next with 10,336 units, while hydrogen vehicles showed more room for growth with only 187 units sold.

By model, the hybrid version of Hyundai Ioniq was the top seller with 11,441 units, followed by Kia’s Niro Hybrid that also made sales of 10,767 units. Hyundai Motor Group said that other popular hybrid models in the US included those of the SUV lineup such as Hyundai Tucson, Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorento, each of which sold 4,000-7,000 units.

Building on the continued success of the hybrid version of its Ioniq model, Hyundai will launch its all-electric IONIQ 5 in the US within 2021. The automaker will further expand its EV lineup next year by offering Kia EV6 and the electric model of Genesis G80 to American drivers.

“We will have a wider portfolio of EVs than our competitors to win the competition in the US market,” said a Hyundai Motor representative.

Write to Hyung-kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com
Daniel Cho edited this article.