Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors showed solid growth last year despite the global semiconductor shortage. This year, it is expected to maintain its growth rate by increasing overseas sales mainly in the US, Europe, and emerging markets. / Photo= Yangjae-dong, Seoul, Hyundai Headquarters.
Hyundai Motor and Kia performed well in 2021 amid COVID-19. The global automotive semiconductor shock could not stop them from growing. The sluggish domestic sales were compensated by overseas sales, which led the earnings to grow. Hyundai managed to perform jaw-dropping performance in North America where it was once dubbed as the ‘latecomer’, for the first time leaving Honda behind.
The secret to such growth can be found in the broadest strides of Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, who is in his third year in office. Under the leadership of Chairman Chung, who put forward the new concept of ‘meta mobility’, the Hyundai Motor Group is moving forward this year without pause.

Order of writing

1. Hyundai·Kia beat Honda in the US

2. The core of Chung Eui-sun’s future mobility strategy is ‘robots’

3. Hyundai and Kia to grow more this year


Contrary to the earlier prediction that the annual sales of Hyundai Motor Group would fall last year due to the disruption of global automotive semiconductor supply and demand, brought by Corona 19, Hyundai Motor saw the growth of 3.9% and Kia 6.5%, respectively. Although production was disrupted at domestic factories due to a lack of semiconductors, it won in overseas markets. It is expected to maintain the sustained growth this year, in the face of unforseeable adverse environment, because of the recurring outbreak of COVID19.

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Global sales target: Hyundai 3.9 million units, Kia 2.78 million units

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Hyundai Motor and Kia sold nearly 6.7 million cars at home and abroad in 2021. In the case of Hyundai, it disappointingly sold only 726,838 units in domestic market, down 7.7% from the previous year, while 3,890,981 units were delivered in the global market, up 7.0% from the previous 3,164,143 units.

Hyundai and Kia are expected to maintain corporate growth this year by overcoming COVID-19 and the shortage of semiconductors for automobiles around the world and increasing the number of sales by launching new electric vehicles./ Photo=Sedan ‘Grandeur’.

In the Korean market, along with the steady popularity of the sedan, Grandeur the eco-friendly car model was driving forces. Hybrid model sales rose by 3.4% compared to 2020, to 68,416 units, and electric vehicles to 42,448 units, a 128.1% hike, while hydrogen electric vehicles (Nexo) jumped to 8,502 units, which marked the year-on-year growth of 46.9%.


Kia's domestic sales in 2021 stopped at 535,016 units, down 3.1% from the previous year, but overseas sales went up by 9.1% to 2,242,040 units. Thanks to the oversees market, Kia's total sales last year reached 2,777,056 units, an increase of 6.5% from the year ago. The models that drove up Kia's overseas sales are the Sportage(323,868 units), the Seltos(258,647 units), and the Pride (Overseas name Rio, 219,958 units).


Both companies demonstrated solid global earnings last year, offsetting the sluggish domestic sales with overseas sales. A Hyundai Motor Group official said "In 2021 domestic sales slightly slid, due to issues over semiconductor parts but overseas sales rebounded as global auto market demand such as the US, Europe and emerging markets recovered with the help of the base effect from the aftermath of COVID-19."


Hyundai Motor has set its sales target for this year at 4,323,000 units, 432,019 more than last year. To fulfill this figure, the company plans to expand its market share and strengthen profitability through ▲ efforts to stabilize supply and demand for semiconductors ▲adjust the car production schedule ▲ strengthen the electrification lineup ▲optimize sales profit and loss by region.

/designed by Lee kang-june

Kia also set a target of selling 3.15 million units (562,000 domestic and 2,588,000 global), the growth of 372,944 units from last year, reaffirming its will to expand the global market share. A Kia official emphasized, "This year, we will implement a robust sales strategy together with the launching of competitive new models which include the second-generation Niro EV and EV6 high-performance models, among others."

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In the US, it overtook Honda to rank 5th in sales

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It is widely viewed that the performance in global sales of Hyundai Motor and Kia last year is even more encouraging as, like other automakers, they were also in the turmoil of the global automotive semiconductor supply and demand crisis. Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun frequently toured overseas markets including the U.S. to oversee local production lines and concentrate on planning future mobility strategies.

 

In particular Chairman Chung frequently visited the US, the world's largest automobile market, to deal with the market situation that is still vulnerable to the possible disruption due to the shortage of semiconductors for automobiles and to encourage its employees. In December of last year, he visited the US to review plans to launch a new car to have more pies and to listen to the timing of electric vehicle production in the US.

 

Thanks to such efforts of Chairman Chung in 2021 for the first time ever in the US market it defeated Honda in terms of sales quantity, one of Japan's big3 brands. Last year Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Genesis sold 1,489,118 units in the US market, up 21.6% from the previous year. This is higher than the previous annual-high of 1,422,603 ​​units, achieved in 2016.

Hyundai and Kia ranked fifth in sales in the US market last year, beating Japan's Honda for the first time ever. / Photo=SUV ‘Sportage’

Last year Honda sold 1,466,630 units in the US market, up 8.9% from a year ago, but its slot was given to the Hyundai Motor Group. The auto industry analyzed that the popularity of SUVs and Genesis' premium strategy played a pivotal role for a perch up.


A Hyundai Motor official explained “Despite continuous business uncertainties such as semiconductor supply and demand, global sales grew by minimizing the impact of supply delays through adjustment of automobile production schedules and choices from customers for excellent product quality.”


The official emphasized "This year we will gear up to keep the momentum of last year by launching competitive new models: to name it, the Ioniq6 and GV70 electrified models, implementing a solid sales strategy."