Growing Hybrid Market
The domestic hybrid automobile market is steadily growing. They come in more various models than last year and their sales rose, vitalizing the automobile market which has faced a domestic sale cliff since the end of a drop in individual exercise tax.
According to the automobile industry on September 4, Hyundai, Kia and GM Korea had sold a total of 31,975 units of hybrid cars, up 68% from 18,983 from a year before. It is said that new models of this year such as the Ioniq Hybrid and the Niro took the lead in the growth.
The best selling model was the Niro, a compact SUV of Kia which had sold 111,743 units since its launch in March. It is said that the Niro attracted consumers with its high mileage of 31.5km per liter in addition to its popularity as an SUV model. Placed second was the Ioniq Hybrid which recorded sales of 5,972 units since its release in January. This model recorded a combined fuel economy of 22.4km/L which is the highest among Korean hybrid models.
The Niro and the Ioniq Hybrid are accounting for more than the half of total sales of hybrid cars in Korea. They are followed by the Grandeur Hybrid (5379), the Sonata Hybrid (5225), the K5 Hybrid (2725), the K7 Hybrid (867) and the Malibu Hybrid (64).
Apart from the K5 Hybrid, existing models are being pushed away by new models launched this year. The Grandeur Hybrid and the Sonata Hybrid saw their sales slide 19.6% and 37.3%, respectively year on year. Sales of the Kia K7 Hybrid fell 54% from a year before. This means new hybrid models stole the show from them.