Hyundai, Kia speed up expansion in European EV market

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp., South Korea’s top two automakers, are expanding their presence in Europe, the world’s second-largest electric vehicle market, thanks to the growing popularity of the IONIQ 5 and the EV 6.

The automobile producers of South Korea’s No. 3 conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group topped the bestselling EV carmaker list in Ireland, Spain and Finland in the first quarter, according to industry sources on Sunday. They were among the top three EV makers in the region’s environmentally conscious powerhouses such as Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands.

“EV models based on the E-GMP platform such as the IONIQ 5 and the EV6 are selling well in Europe, the home to eco-friendly vehicles,” said a Hyundai Motor Group source, referring to its proprietary Electric-Global Modular Platform. “By accelerating the trend, we will aim to meet a goal to produce 3.23 million EVs worldwide by 2030.”

IONIQ 5, EV 6

Hyundai and Kia’s market share in Ireland’s EV market totaled 37.8% in the first quarter, up 16.9 percentage points from a year earlier, becoming the No. 1 player there for the first time in six quarters. That came as their competitors including Tesla Inc., the world’s top EV manufacturer, Volkswagen and the Renault-Nissan alliance lost their shares, sources said.

Volkswagen ranked No. 2 with a 21.3% market share, followed by the Renault-Nissan alliance with 11% and Tesla with 10.5%.

Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 was the bestselling EV with sales of 1,079 units, while Kia’s EV 6 ranked third with shipments of 598 units. The second-bestselling EV was Volkswagen’s ID.4 with sales of 743 units, while the Nissan LEAF and the Tesla Model 3 ranked No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

In Spain, the South Korean players took the lead in the first quarter with a market share of 21.3% by selling 1,717 EVs, followed by Stellantis N.V. with a 19.6% share and Tesla with a 17.5%.

Hyundai and Kia sold 663 EVs, topping Finland’s EV market with a combined market share of 21.9%. That compared with Volkswagen’s market share of 20.2% and Tesla’s 15.1%. The country is a small but crucial eco-friendly vehicle market with EV sales accounting for more than 10%, nearly double the 5.6% EV portion in South Korea.

The South Korean automakers ranked second in Sweden and third in Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. In Germany, France and Switzerland, they were the No. 4 EV maker.

Write to Han-Shin Park at phs@hankyung.com
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.