Kia America’s new normal: Record car sales month after month

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, has been dismissed as the weaker sibling or smaller sister firm of Hyundai Motor Co., the country’s top carmaker.

In the US, the Korean duo’s single largest overseas market, however, Kia is no less important. Arguably, Kia performs better than Hyundai.

Building on the momentum created by its best-ever first-half sales, Kia America set an all-time July sales record of 70,930 units, up 14% from a year earlier.

The July figure represents its 12th consecutive month of year-on-year sales growth to record highs – a feat not replicated by even its Korean sibling.

Last month’s performance was led by its Niro crossover SUV, which posted a 384% on-year sales increase, recreational vehicle Carnival, which was up 136% and the Seltos compact SUV, which gained 39%.

“Achieving one full calendar year of consecutive sales growth proves that Kia has the right mix of models that consumers are looking for, whether it’s a rugged and capable SUV, a sporty sedan or an innovative EV,” said Eric Watson, vice president in charge of sales operations at Kia America.

“As sales of our utility models continue to account for more than 70% of our overall total, and inventory levels on in-demand vehicles continue to improve, we are confident that the launch of Kia’s flagship EV9 all-electric three-row SUV late this year will only accelerate this momentum for the foreseeable future.”

DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH LED BY ECO-FRIENDLY CARS

In the US, Hyundai Motor also posted double-digit sales growth led by eco-friendly vehicles last month.

Hyundai Motor America saw its July sales, including its premium sub-brand Genesis cars, rise 10.7% year on year to 72,857 units.

Sales of both the Santa Fe hybrid SUV and the all-electric IONIQ 5 crossover more than doubled, while the Tucson plug-in hybrid SUV sold 44% more than in July 2022. 

Genesis cars sold a record monthly high of 6,330 units, including 2,525 units of the Electrified GV70, now rolling out of Hyundai’s US factory.

“Hyundai continues to wow customers with its eco-friendly product offerings, including the IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6 and our HEV and PHEV vehicles,” said Randy Parker, chief executive of Hyundai Motor America.

Combined, Hyundai and Kia sold 143,787 vehicles in the US market last month, up 12.1% from the year-earlier period.

Of the total, their eco-friendly cars accounted for 18.4%, or 26,498 units – an all-time monthly high.

While Hyundai’s eco-friendly car sales rose 77.7% on year to 15,392 units, Kia’s such cars sold 11,106 units, up 71.9% from a year ago.

The two Korean companies said last year they plan to increase the portion of hybrids until their EVs receive US tax breaks under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

Hyundai and Kia have yet to benefit from the IRA tax credit that favors electric vehicles made in North America.

Nevertheless, the Korean duo was among the top 10 EV sellers in the US in the first half.

Globally, Hyundai and Kia together ranked third with 3.66 million car sales, including EVs, in the first half – behind industry leader Toyota Motor and Volkswagen.

Write to Nan-Sae Bin at binthere@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.