Clinching Fourth Place for First Time in History
Hyundai Motor and Kia have set all-time monthly sales records in the United States for September, with both companies also achieving record-breaking cumulative sales from January to September. With this trend, it appears that they may secure the fourth-place position in sales for the first time in 37 years of their presence in the U.S., surpassing Stellantis.
According to Hyundai Motor Group on Oct. 4, the combined sales of Hyundai cars, including Genesis, and Kia in the U.S. for September totaled 142,869 units. This marks an 18.4 percent increase compared to the previous year and represents the highest-ever September sales performance in history.
Breaking it down by brand, Hyundai sold 75,605 units, showing a 17.5 percent growth from the previous year, while Kia recorded 67,264 units, a 19.0 percent increase. Hyundai’s Genesis luxury brand continued its strong performance, selling 6,644 units in September alone, which represents a sharp increase of 35.4 percent compared to the previous year and sets a new record for the highest monthly sales.
Hyundai and Kia’s remarkable performance was led by eco-friendly vehicles. In September, they sold a total of 25,701 eco-friendly vehicles in the U.S., marking a significant increase of 128.2 percent compared to last year. The share of eco-friendly vehicles in total sales also expanded to 18.0 percent, with two out of every ten cars being eco-friendly. Among these, hybrid vehicles recorded sales of 15,683 units in September alone, representing a 103.6 percent rise compared to the previous year.
Despite the ongoing impact of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides tax incentives exclusively for North American-made electric vehicles, electric car sales continued to perform exceptionally well, recording 12,000 units in September, a remarkable increase of 183.1 percent compared to a year earlier. The top-selling models were the Ioniq 5 with 3,958 units, the EV6 with 2,084 units, the Ioniq 6 with 1,665 units, and the Kona Electric with 828 units.
While maintaining their impressive performance, Hyundai and Kia’s cumulative U.S. sales from January to September of this year reached 1,250,482 units, marking 15 percent growth compared to the previous year and setting a new historical high. During the same period, Stellantis sold 1,188,118 units, a 1.3 percent decrease compared to the previous year. As a result, Hyundai and Kia Motors have surpassed Honda and secured the fifth position in the U.S. market for the second consecutive year in 2021 and 2022, and they are expected to move up to the fourth position this year, surpassing Stellantis.
The outlook for the future is also positive. GM, Ford, Stellantis, and others may face production disruptions if the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike continues. However, analysis suggests that Hyundai and Kia Motors’ U.S. factories, being non-union, may benefit from the situation.