Hyundai Motor Group Takes 1st Spot in Russian Auto Market in August

Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Corp. jointly topped the Russian auto market in August.

Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. sold 31,383 units, recording a 27.5 percent share in August, up 4.5 percentage points from July. Kia sold 17,277 units and Hyundai Motor 14,106 units, according to the Association of European Businesses (AEB).

LADA, a Renault Group brand, sold 29,127 units last month, accounting for 25.5 percent of the market. LADA vehicles are produced by Russian carmaker Avtovaz, which was founded in 1966. It is a state-run automobile company established under a planned economy during the former Soviet Union period. Renault acquired Avtovaz, which faced a management crisis, to target the Russian market.

Hyundai Motor and Kia entered the Russian market in 2011 by building a plant in St. Petersburg. They faced a crisis in 2014 as U.S. economic sanctions on Russia and low oil prices pulled down car sales. At the time, most of the global automakers such as General Motors (GM) withdrew from Russia. Yet, Hyundai Motor and Kia aggressively launched new models including the compact models Solaris and Rio.

The Russian automobile market revived, and Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors enjoyed a growing popularity. "Russians view Hyundai Motor and Kia as higher-end brands than LADA," the Automotive News said.

Hyundai Motor Group is further expanding its Russian business. At the end of 2020, it acquired GM's St. Petersburg plant, which had stopped operating, and began to ramp up local production.