Hyundai Motor’s UK sales highest in 5 years, driven by IONIQ 5

Just a few years back, vehicles built by Hyundai Motor Co. were dismissed as second-class cars of poor quality in Europe, with one car magazine deriding them as “soulless boxes on wheels.”

The top South Korean automaker, however, has come a long way, particularly in the UK, posting its best sales since 2018, driven by eco-friendly vehicles.

Hyundai said on Friday its new car registration in the UK reached 46,351 units in the first half – its highest figure in five years. That’s up 13.3% from the year-earlier period.

With that figure, Hyundai ranked eighth among all vehicle brands in the country, garnering a market share of 4.9%.

Hyundai said its decent performance was driven by its aggressive launch in the UK of electric vehicles (EVs), hybrids (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs).

In the first six months of the year, Hyundai sold 22,821 eco-friendly vehicles in the UK, ranking fourth in such vehicle sales. The sales figure compares with 21,474 units in the year-earlier period and 14,505 cars in the first half of 2021.

Hyundai’s eco-friendly car sales were led by EVs, which sold 7,276 vehicles in the first half.

In entire 2022, the company sold 14,449 EVs in the UK, up from 12,565 cars in 2021 and 6,988 units in 2020.

Hyundai said it will strengthen its EV lineup for the rest of this year, with increased marketing efforts for its first electric crossover, the IONIQ 5, which entered the British market in 2021; the IONIQ 6, its first full-electric sedan; and the all-new Kona electric SUV.

ACCOLADES

Hyundai’s electric cars are among the most coveted vehicles in the UK, winning accolades from industry experts.

While the IONIQ 6 was named the 2023 Car of the Year at the British GQ Car Awards earlier this year, the IONIQ 5 has won the 2022 UK Car of the Year award.

Last week, Hyundai’s all-new Kona Electric SUV won the Car of the Year for 2023 award by Auto Express, a leading UK car-related media outlet.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor on Thursday debuted the IONIQ 5 N, its first all-electric high-performance car under its N brand, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, England.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, who personally drove the high-performance EV before the launch, said the IONIQ 5 N is an everyday EV sports car, best suited for “driving fun.”

Hyundai plans to launch the latest EV model in Korea by the end of September and then take it to North America, Europe and other parts of Asia.

Write to Il-Gue Kim at Black0419@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.