Beating BMW
The Hyundai and Kia Automotive Group ranked third in sales of electric cars among major automakers last year.
According to market researcher IHS and the automobile industry on July 6, Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 12,992 electric vehicles including Soul EV and Ioniq Electric cars in the global market last year. The figure is a 50% spike from more the 8,561 units in 2015.
As a result, Hyundai and Kia ranked third among the top 12 automakers with annual global sales of upwards of two million units. The two Korean automakers joined a group of frontrunners for the first time in four years since beginning to sell electric cars to the general public in 2012. Their combined market share rose by one percentage point from 2% in 2015 to 3% last year.
The total sales volume of electric vehicles worldwide last year was 431,000 units, up 41% from 305,000 units in the previous year. Their sales accounted for 0.5% of total car sales.
Among major automakers, Renault Nissan (including Mitsubishi) topped the electric vehicle sales standings with 78,000 units. The second spot was claimed by Volkswagen which sold 13,000 units. Including electric car makers, Tesla sold 70,000 units, standing second. In 2015 alone, BMW which distinguished itself in the electric car market with the i3 front and center was relegated by Hyundai and Kia as the German automaker sold 12,713 electric vehicles last year.
Seven Chinese companies including Zhongtai and BAIC given support by the Chinese government ranked fairly high. Hyundai Motor ranked 11th in these standings.