Hyundai Motor Company and Kia are expected to surpass cumulative sales of 30 million units in the U.S. market this year, continuing their consistent growth. Hyundai and Kia announced on the 24th that they have recorded cumulative sales of 29,303,995 units in the U.S. market as of last month since they began selling in the U.S. in 1986. The combined figure includes Hyundai’s 17,116,065 units and Kia’s 12,187,930 units.
Last year, Hyundai sold 911,805 units and Kia sold 796,488 units, both achieving their highest sales ever in the U.S., placing Hyundai and Kia in fourth position for the second consecutive year behind GM, Toyota, and Ford. Hyundai and Kia plan to continue this sales momentum and further strengthen their market presence by reaching cumulative sales of 30 million units in the U.S. this year through high product quality and a flexible production system.
In the U.S. market, Hyundai’s best-selling model is the Elantra (locally known as Elantra), which started sales in the U.S. in 1991 and sold 3,880,000 units through February. It is followed by the Sonata (3,420,000 units), Santa Fe (2,380,000 units), and Tucson (1,870,000 units). For Kia, the Sorento became available in the U.S. in 2002 and has sold 1,830,000 units through last year. It is followed by the Sportage (1,660,000 units), Soul (1,520,000 units), and K5 (1,500,000 units).
In North America, Hyundai maintains a full SUV lineup from the small SUV Venue to the Palisade large SUV. Similarly, Kia has built an SUV lineup starting with the Seltos, followed by the Niro, Sportage, Sorento, and Telluride, enhancing its competitiveness in the SUV-preferred U.S. market. In 2021, Hyundai and Kia’s SUV sales amounted to 1,284,066 units, accounting for over 75% of total sales.
The premium brand Genesis sold 6,948 units in its first year in the U.S. in 2016 and has seen steady growth every year since 2021. Notably, last year Genesis sold 75,003 units, thanks to the successful sales of the GV70 and GV80, surpassing annual U.S. sales of 70,000 units for the first time.
In terms of electric vehicle sales, Hyundai and Kia entered the U.S. electric vehicle market starting with the Kia Soul EV in 2014 and the Hyundai Ioniq EV in 2017. Initially, their annual electric vehicle sales averaged around 1,000 units, but this grew to 19,590 units in 2021. The launch of new models such as the Ioniq 5, EV6 based on the E-GMP platform, and Genesis brand electric vehicles like the electrified G80 and GV60 led to a significant increase in sales, resulting in a dramatic year-over-year growth of 337.5% in 2022 to 58,028 units. In 2023, they sold 94,340 units and recorded their highest sales with 123,861 units last year, achieving annual U.S. sales of more than 100,000 electric vehicles for the first time.
A Hyundai Motor Group official stated, “Hyundai and Kia plan to continue expanding their lineup and maintaining high product quality. In addition, they aim to quickly adapt to the rapidly changing U.S. market by producing hybrid vehicles as well as electric vehicles at the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA), which began mass production last October.”