Hyundai, Kia refine profile with accolades, higher global rankings

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp., the two automaking units of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group, have worked for decades to refine their profile in the global car market, ranging from sedans to sport utility vehicles. With electrification now the industry’s hottest buzzword, their goal has become a dream come true.

Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 and Kia’s EV6, the conglomerate’s two latest electric vehicles built on the group’s proprietary Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), this week won the best car of the year awards in Europe, home to premium brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

According to the automotive group on Tuesday, Kia’s EV6, a mid-size crossover utility vehicle (CUV), has been named the 2022 European Car of the Year (ECOTY), becoming the first Korean brand to do so since the launch of the award in 1964.

The EV6 took the throne, beating over 60 models launched in 2021, even outranking Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ5, which came in third. Five other brands that made to the shortlist are Ford Mustang Mach-E, Skoda Enyaq iV, Cupra Born, Renault Megane E-Tech and Peugeot 308.

Demonstrating the growing popularity of electric vehicles amid an industrywide paradigm shift toward a new mobility, six of the seven-strong shortlisted models were EVs.

“The EV6 is a landmark development that’s been designed from the outset to make electric mobility fun, convenient and accessible,” said Jason Jeong, president of Kia Europe. “The EV6 is an exciting sign of what’s still to come in our evolving electrified lineup.”

DEDICATED EV PLATFORM

The EV6 is the second car of the group to sit on the E-GMP, following the Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 5. The E-GMP, launched in December 2022, is an integrated platform that will underpin all forthcoming electric cars from both Hyundai and Kia.

Kia launched the EV6 in March last year to compete with the likes of the Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen’s ID.4 amid intensifying competition among global automakers to go eco-friendly.

With the E-GMP underpinnings, the EV6’ long-range model with an 800-volt system can travel 528 km on a single charge, farther than the Tesla Model Y’s 448 km and the IONIQ 5’s 429 km. The EV6 also runs at a maximum speed of 260 km per hour, compared with the Model Y’s 250 km.

Charging up its battery will take less time than many of Kia’s rivals. Its ultra-fast charging capability enables it to drive at least 100 km on only a four-and-a-half-minute charge. The Hyundai Motor Group said its E-GMP cars support fast charging, with an 80% charge from empty possible in just 18 minutes.

RACKING UP THE INDUSTRY ACCOLADES

The 2022 European Car of the Year award is the latest in a growing number of globally renowned awards bestowed on Kia and Hyundai Motor.

Earlier this week, the IONIQ 5 and the EV6 were recognized as the most competitive electric sport utility vehicles by Auto Zeitung, a respected German auto magazine.

Hyundai and Kia in recent months significantly raised their standings in the global car market, winning top global awards and industry accolades in recognition of their excellence in design, performance, quality and safety.

More recently, Kia was cited as the top-ranked automaker in J.D. Power’s 2022 US Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) ahead of General Motor Co.’s Buick as well as premium brands such as Porsche and Lexus.

When Hyundai entered the US market by exporting its subcompact Excel in 1986, the Korean carmaker was booed as Honda’s "copycat," as its logo and the pronunciation of its brand were similar to the Japanese carmaker’s.

Hyundai has come a long way since then.

Last week, a total of 21 models from Hyundai Motor Group’s three brands – Hyundai, Kia and the premium Genesis – received top scores from the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for their high levels of safety.

Since Chairman Chung Euisun took the helm of the Korean automotive group in October 2020, Hyundai has strived to improve the quality of its cars.

NOW THE WORLD’S NO. 4

Aided by the top industry accolades, the group’s auto sales – when Hyundai Motor and Kia combined – have also increased, becoming the world’s fourth-largest car manufacturer, following Toyota Motor, Volkswagen and the Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi alliance.

According to industry data, the two Korean carmakers sold a combined 6.67 million vehicles in 2021, up 5% from the previous year. Stellantis sold 6.5 million cars, while GM sold 6.29 million cars.

Hyundai Motor and Kia saw their combined auto sales in the US rise to their highest level in January when almost all other major carmakers posted declining sales.

The two automakers last year beat Japan’s Honda Motor in the US for the first time in 35 years.

The EV6 is the first of seven all-electric vehicles Kia plans to launch by 2026.

Hyundai Motor and Kia sold a combined 135,408 EVs in Europe last year, up 41.2% from the previous year.

As part of the group’s efforts to enhance its presence in the global EV market, Hyundai Motor said in early February it is reentering the Japanese car market after a 12-year hiatus with its latest electric vehicles, starting with the IONIQ 5 and the NEXO, a hydrogen fuel cell SUV.

Teaming up with Anyca, a Japanese car-sharing platform, Hyundai on Feb. 25 began offering 100 units of the IONIQ 5 and 20 NEXO cars in Tokyo and its surrounding suburbs.

To make the IONIQ 5 competitive against its Japanese rivals, Hyundai has set the price of the IONIQ 5 at between 4.79 million yen and 5.89 million yen ($41,555-$51,097), lower than the Nissan Ariya’s 5.4 million yen -7.4 million yen range.

Japan, the world’s third-largest car market, saw a mere 22,144 EV sales last year, less than 1% of the country’s 4.5 million new-vehicle market.

Write to Il-Gue Kim, Byung-Uk Do and Hyung-Kyu Kim at Black0419@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.