Hybrid Cars
Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors Corp. outpaced Ford Motor Co. to become the No. 2 hybrid automobile sellers in the United States in July for the first time in two years, following Toyota.
According to U.S. market tracker HybridCars.com on August 6, the two South Korean automakers sold a total of 4,976 hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in the U.S. market last month. The figure was more than a twofold surge from 2,069 units at the same period last year.
Toyota, which sold a total of 15,663 units, has maintained the number one spot, while Ford slipped to third place as sales of its Fusion Hybrid model plunged by more than half from 6,663 units in June to 3,186 units last month due to the drop in demand. Hyundai and Kia Motors surpassed Ford and ranked second in terms of sales in 27 months after April 2015. The share of Hyundai and Kia Motors in the HEV market stood at 17.1 percent last month, up 1.9 percent points from 15.2 percent at the previous month. Toyota’s market share rose 8.1 percent points from 53.2 percent in June to 61.3 percent in July, while Ford’s market share fell from 23.6 percent to 12.5 percent
The relatively good performance by Hyundai and Kia Motors in the U.S. HEV market was largely due to strong consumer demand for the Niro crossover-type hybrid that sold 2,763 vehicles last month, showing the highest sales among Hyundai and Kia cars. The Niro had ranked fourth in terms of sales for five months in a row from February, the first month of the release, but moved up to third spot in July. Hyundai's Ioniq hatchback, which first hit the market in March, sold 1,209 vehicles, placing it eighth.