Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, October US sales record high... Hybrid 56%↑ (overall)

Seoul·Los Angeles = Yonhap News Reporter Kim Yun-gu and Kim Kyung-yoon Correspondent = Hyundai Motor Company and Kia sold more than 160,000 vehicles in the U.S. market last month, setting the highest sales record in October of all time. Sales of hybrid and electric vehicles increased significantly, driving overall performance.

According to Hyundai Motor Group on the 4th, the combined sales volume of Hyundai Motors [005380] and Kia [000270] in the United States in October was 160,083 units, a 9.5% increase from the same month last year.

Hyundai Motor Company sold 80,075 units, including its luxury brand Genesis, an increase of 3.8% compared to the same month last year. Hyundai vehicle sales, excluding Genesis, increased 4.8% to 73,452 units.

Kia sold 80,080 units, a 16.0% increase.

Both Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors have the highest sales performance in October of all time. Kia continued to record the highest monthly sales for six consecutive months.

Hyundai Motor Company's sales were led by Santa Fe (17,959 units, 52.2% increase) and Elantra (12,011 units, 17.5% increase). Kona and Ioniq 5 sales also increased by 21% each, and Palisade increased by 14%.

Kia's growth was led by sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and recreational vehicles (RVs), including Telluride (14,09 units, 63.4% increase), Seltos (8,052 units, 43.2% increase), and Carnival (7,751 units, 17.4% increase). K4 and Sportage also increased by 14% and 12%, respectively.

Genesis decreased by 5.6% to 6,623 units. The GV70 increased by 9.8% to 3,347 units, but the GV80 decreased by 19.4% to 1,879 units.

Performance was supported by the growth of eco-friendly vehicles, which significantly exceeded the overall sales growth rate.

The two companies' sales of eco-friendly cars in the U.S. in October were 54,505 units, a 56.0% increase from the same month last year. The share of eco-friendly cars in total sales reached 34.0%, the highest ever.

By vehicle type, hybrid vehicles increased by 56.1% to 48,559 units, and electric vehicles increased by 55.1% to 5,946 units.

In particular, Kia's eco-friendly car sales surged 111.9% to 31,058 units, exceeding 30,000 units per month in the U.S. market for the first time. Kia's hybrid vehicle sales increased 105.6% to 27,409 units, and electric vehicle sales increased 174.2% to 3,649 units. By electric vehicle model, EV9 increased by 111% and EV6 increased by 58%.

Hyundai Motor Company's eco-friendly vehicle sales, including Genesis, increased by 15.6% to 23,447 units. The number of hybrid vehicles increased by 19.0% to 21,150 units, but the number of electric vehicles decreased by 8.2% to 2,297 units.

“We had our best October ever,” said Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai Motor North America. “The 9% increase in retail sales is a clear sign that consumers are choosing Hyundai vehicles.”

Meanwhile, in the U.S. market in October, Toyota's sales increased by 5.7% to 221,507 units, and Honda's sales increased by 8.0% to 119,952 units.