Long Way Ahead
In the second half of the year meeting of top executives representing Hyundai and Kia operations abroad on Dec. 15, Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, said, “We cannot be satisfied with sales of 8 million vehicles, and have still a long way to go before it. This figure is just a new beginning and a starting point.”
Until November, Hyundai-Kia Motors sold 7.25 million cars in the markets at home and abroad, which is a 4.8 percent increase compared with the same period of last year (6.92 million cars). The motor group’s global sales will surpass 8 million units while exceeding their target of 7.86 million, which was established at the beginning of the year, by 140,000 units.
Hyundai-Kia sales are up 2.5 percent to 1.03 million in Korea while the sales grew double digits (10.6 percent) in China. In global markets, including Brazil, India, and the U.S., its sales have grown evenly to reach 6.21 million cars, which is 5.1 percent higher than last year.
Chung said, “Let’s not be content or intimidated by the achievements, but move toward bigger goals,” and added, “Next year will be an important year for Hyundai-Kia Motors to launch its new eco-friendly vehicles into the global markets. We need to position ourselves as the world’s leading eco-friendly vehicle automaker with thorough preparation.”
Thanks to more carmakers that released new models as well as more subsidies offered by the governments, the global market for eco-friendly cars is expected to expand 22.2 percent to 2.4 million, from 1.96 million this year.
Hyundai-Kia Motors will launch its first-ever Sonata Plug-in Hybrid in the domestic and the U.S. markets, and plans to increase the market share of hybrid vehicles while launching new models, the Sonata Hybrid and K5 Hybrid, which have improved fuel efficiency. By the end of next year, it will release a compact hybrid model following Toyota and Honda.