Korea’s exports in March recorded 53.8 billion dollars, an increase of 16.6% compared to the same month last year. It is the highest in March. This is the result of good performance items such as semiconductors and automobiles in major markets such as China and the United States. On the 1st, the Hyundai Motors Ulsan factory’s export dock is full of finished cars that are about to be shipped. yunhap news
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Korea’s exports in March recorded 53.8 billion dollars, an increase of 16.6% compared to the same month last year. It is the highest in March. This is the result of good performance items such as semiconductors and automobiles in major markets such as China and the United States. On the 1st, the Hyundai Motors Ulsan factory’s export dock is full of finished cars that are about to be shipped. yunhap news
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia recorded the highest monthly sales in the US market last month. It is evaluated that it has started a’second leap forward’ in the United States, the second largest automobile market in the world. Genesis, Hyundai’s luxury brand, will officially enter the world’s largest market, China.
According to the automobile industry on the 2nd, last month, Hyundai Motor Company sold 78409 vehicles in the United States, an increase of 117.3% from the same period last year. Kia also sold 66523 units during this period, an increase of 46.5% compared to a year ago. When Hyundai Motors and Kia were added, it was 14,4932 units, up 77.8% from the same month last year. As for monthly sales, it is the highest since it entered the United States in 1986. Both Hyundai and Kia are about 3,000 more than the previous record. Even inside Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, there is a reaction that “there was a historical performance”.
The surge in sales of Hyundai Motors and Kia is interpreted as a result of the popularity of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) such as the Genesis GV80. By model, Palisade and Kona showed the highest sales performance ever, while Santa Fe and Tucson broke the highest performance in March. The recovery of the US auto market also contributed to the sales growth. In the first quarter of this year, US car sales increased by 8% compared to the same period last year. Some analysts say that it has recovered to a level similar to that before the Corona 19 pandemic (the pandemic).
The sales volume of Hyundai Motors and Kia in the U.S. increased significantly even compared to the entire market and competing brands. In the first quarter of last year, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia increased their sales in the US by 22.8% compared to the same period last year. Compared to other large brands, such as General Motors (3.7%) Ford (0.6%) Stellaantis (5.1%) Honda (16.2%) and Toyota (21.6%).
On the same day, Genesis held a’Genesis Brand Night’ event at the International Cruise Terminal in Shanghai, China, and officially entered the Chinese market. Genesis plans to launch the G80 and GV80 in the Chinese market first.
I can’t sell because I don’t have telluride or nose… GM and Ford dominated sales growth
Quality recognized as the home of SUVs… Genesis is also popular with the’Woods Effect’
Hyundai Motor Company and Kia experienced the worst sluggishness in the U.S., the world’s two largest automobile markets in 2017-2019. U.S. sales, which increased to 142,2603 units in 2016, fell to 1.2 million units per year. Among local dealers, complaining that “the car is not so popular that it cannot be sold without excessive promotions” was poured out. This is because small and mid-sized sedans, which were the flagship products of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, were not sold in the US market.
The atmosphere began to change last year. This is the result of the aggressive sports utility vehicle (SUV) gaining popularity and the luxury brand Genesis. Although global automobile factories were shut down due to the Corona 19 pandemic (a pandemic), Hyundai Motor and Kia continued to operate their factories, which also worked positively.
○ Positioned as an SUV brand
The rise of Hyundai Motors and Kia has grown even stronger this year. Last month, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia recorded the largest sales ever recorded in the United States. Compared to March last year, it increased by 77.8%. The number one contributor was SUV. Hyundai Motor and Kia’s SUV sales volume increased by 100.4% compared to the same period last year to 93,019 units. SUV models such as Palisade (9184 units), Kona (11,416 units), and Seltos (6497 units) have achieved the highest performance since the launch. Tucson (15,740 units), Santa Fe (15,38 units), Sportage (9471 units), and Telluride (8591 units) were also sold steadily. An automobile industry official said, “Hyundai Motor and Kia recently made efforts to improve the quality of SUVs, and as a result, they have begun to be recognized in the United States, which is called the’home of SUVs’. It is not recognized as a brand, but as a brand that sells good SUVs.”
Genesis is also raising awareness. Last month, the sales volume was 3006 units, up 201.2% compared to the same month last year. Genesis’ first SUV, the GV80, led the uptrend with the sale of 1636 units. The GV80 attracted attention because the inside of the GV80 was barely damaged even though Tiger Woods, a professional golf player, suffered a car rollover accident while driving.
○ 8.5% market share’Huge’
In terms of sales volume in the first quarter, Hyundai Motor Company and Kia performed better than their competitors. Hyundai and Kia sold 170,352 and 15,950 vehicles respectively in the U.S. in the first quarter. Compared to the first quarter of last year, it increased 30.1% and 15.7%, respectively. Hyundai and Kia’s growth rate is 22.8%.
General Motors (GM) increased only 3.7% during this period and Ford increased only 0.6%. Stellaantis, a merger of Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Peugeot Citroen (PSA), grew 5.1 percent. Compared to Japan’s Toyota (21.6%) and Honda (16.2%), the increase was large.
It is known that the market share of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia reached 8.5%. Compared to the 7% market share in 2017-2019, it increased by nearly 2 percentage points. There are many prospects that Hyundai and Kia’s US sales will increase for the time being.
The US auto market has recovered to levels before Corona 19, and various new cars including the GV70 are scheduled to be released. Dedicated platform electric vehicles such as Ionic 5 and EV6 are also starting to target the US market.
It is estimated that between January and March this year, US car sales increased by 8% compared to the same period last year. If this trend continues, it is predicted that about 16 million vehicles will be sold in the United States this year. An industry insider explained, “Even though production was disrupted due to shortage of semiconductors for vehicles, sales are rather increasing.
Reporter Do Byeong-wook/Kim Il-gyu [email protected]