Hyundai, Kia account for 11% of car market in America

The combined share of Hyundai and its smaller company, Kia, in the US market increased in the first half of this year compared to the previous year, and managed to stay above the 10% range amid recovery in demand and production.

The share of the two South Korean companies reached 10.6 percent in the January-June period, up 0.3 percentage points from a year earlier, according to data from US-based Automotive News.

According to “CNN”, the market share of “Hyundai” and “Kia” companies in the American market rose to double digits for the first time last year, and they maintained that level in the first six months of 2023.

Hyundai acquired 5.5%, including its luxury brand, Genesis, while Kia acquired 5.1%.

General Motors took the first place in the US market with a rate of 16.7%, followed by Toyota with a rate of 13.5% and Ford with a rate of 13%.

Hyundai and Kia together ranked fourth in the list, ahead of Stellantis, which accounted for 10.5% of the market share of auto companies in the United States.

Hyundai and Kia combined sold 820,180 cars in the United States in the first half of the year, an increase of 16.7% over the 702,875 cars registered during the same period last year.

The Hyundai Tucson compact SUV was among the most popular models, with sales of 100,591 vehicles in the first half of the year.

Electric vehicle sales by the two South Korean automakers increased 11.4% year-on-year to 38,057 vehicles in the six-month period, despite the US Inflation Reduction Act that grants up to $7,500 in tax credits to buyers of electric vehicles assembled only in North America.

Early this year, Hyundai Motor began producing the fully electric SUV GV70 under its independent Genesis brand at its Alabama plant.

Hyundai is building a factory for electric cars and their batteries in Georgia, in the southeastern United States, which is expected to go into production in the first half of 2025.