Global Sales Expected to Surpass 2.8 Million Units in 2021
Kia Corp.’s global sales are expected to surpass 2.8 million units in 2021, a level that falls short of its annual target of 2.92 million units but is close to its performance in 2018 before the outbreak of COVID-19.
The company sold 2,570,478 units in the first 11 months of this year. Domestic sales fell 5.1 percent, but overseas sales rose 11.1 percent.
While Hyundai Motor has yet to recover its pre-pandemic performance, Kia seems to be getting out of the COVID-19 tunnel. The company is making all-out efforts to expand production in December as automotive semiconductor supply has improved.
According to Samsung Securities, as of the end of November, the number of Kia's contracts amounted to 990,000 units -- 330,000 at home and 600,000 abroad, more than tripling from the pre-pandemic level.
In detail, Kia has outclassed Hyundai Motor in the European market. According to the European Automobile Industry Association (ACEA), Kia’s sales touched 430,525 units in Europe between January and October 2021, eclipsing Hyundai Motor’s 427,015 units during the same period. Hyundai Motor sold 59,545 and 8,090 more cars than Kia in 2019 and 2020, respectively. But in 2021, their rankings were reversed. Thanks to Kia’s good performance, Hyundai Motor Group claimed fourth place in market share in Europe, beating BMW and Toyota.
Kia is setting a new record not only in Europe but in the U.S. market. Kia’s sales in the United States reached a record high of 652,910 units between January and November 2021. Not only SUVs such as the Sportage (88,567 units) and the North American strategic model Telluride (86,186 units), and Sorento (75,295 units) but sedans such as the Forte (107,290 units) and the K5 (86,281 units) are gaining popularity in the U.S. market.
Kia is also making a big recovery in the Indian market. It sold 173,786 units in India from January to November 2021, already exceeding its annual performance (145,505 units) in 2020. Its market share rose 0.3 percentage points from 5.8 percent in 2020 to 6.1 percent 2021.