Surpassing 50,000 Mark
Sales of hybrid cars in South Korea surpassed 50,000 units for the first time as the nation’s first eco-friendly models, the Hyundai Ioniq and the Kia Niro, were released and hybrid vehicles bridged the gap of controversial diesel cars quickly.
According to industry sources on November 7, a total of 50,585 hybrid cars were sold in the country, including Hyundai Motor with 18,579 units, Kia Motors with 19,682 units, GM Korea with 78 units, Toyota and Lexus with 11,383 units and other foreign car brands with 863 units. The figure reached an all-time high, up 30 percent from 38,978 units of the cumulative hybrid car sales in the nation last year. Considering the fact that the hybrid vehicle sales in the domestic market stood at as low as 1,070 units in 2008, the figure increased by more than 50 times in 8 years.
By company, Kia Motors and Toyota led the market growth. Kia Motors, which sold 6,505 hybrid cars last year, sold three times more hybrid cars this year thanks to the popularity of the Niro, which was released in April. The Niro sold 15,465 units up to now. It surpassed the 15,000 mark, which was the initial annual sales forecast, in seven months after the release. Salse of foreign hybrid cars, mainly Toyota, from January to October this year also grew 68.8 percent from 7,253 units at the same period a year ago.
On the other hand, Hyundai Motor, which had the largest share in the hybrid market last year with sales of over 20,000 units, saw its sales plunge this year as the Sonata Hybrid is no long the latest model and sales of the new Ioniq are slower than expected. Sales of the Grandeur Hybrid and the Sonata Hybrid from January to October this year dropped 27 percent and 36.9 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Sales of the Ioniq were as low as 6,576 units. The model was initially expected to sell up to 15,000 units, along with the Niro.
Industry experts said that the domestic hybrid market grew as various new hybrid car models were released and more and more consumers are paying attention to eco-friendly cars. Due to various controversies over diesel vehicles, starting with Volkswagen’s emissions-cheating scandal in September last year, the share of diesel car in total sales decreased from 43.4 percent to 41.5 percent as of the first half of this year and the share of foreign diesel vehicles was down below 50 percent last month for the first time.