Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid crowned best-selling car in Israel

Ioniq Hybrid

South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co.’s green car Ioniq Hybrid was crowned as the best-selling car in Israel, beating not only traditional combustion engine-driven vehicles but also the long-time hybrid leader Toyota Motor Corp.’s Prius.

According to industry sources on Tuesday, Ioniq Hybrid topped the vehicle sales rankings in Israel in the first three months of this year after selling 4,149 units, up 121 percent from a year-ago period. It is the first time the Ioniq Hybrid was named the best-selling car in an individual country since its launch in 2016, the company said.

It is also “very rare” for a green car to put its name on the top sales list and outsell traditional, combustion engine-driven cars in markets outside Northern Europe where electric vehicles are exceptionally popular, a company official said.

The news is also encouraging for the Korean latecomer in the electric vehicle market.

Surprisingly, Ioniq outsold Toyota’s Prius, the long-time hybrid best-selling car across the globe. In Israel, Toyota delivered 475 units of Prius in the first quarter of this year.

Hyundai Motor’s smaller sibling Kia Motors Corp. also beat Toyota in the electric car market in Israel after selling 2,515 units over the same period.

Both Korean carmakers attributed their aggressive marketing campaigns coupled with the government subsidies on electric vehicles to the stellar sales of their hybrid models in the country.

The Israeli government offers tax breaks on the purchase of green cars with a mere 20 percent tax but imposes an 83 percent tax on conventional non-green cars.

Thanks to the popularity of their hybrid models, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors became the top two car brands in Israel in the first quarter after selling 14,898 units and 11,832 units, respectively.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]