Hyundai, Kia target 550,000 car sales to Middle East by 2030

Hyundai Motor and Kia set a combined sales target of 550,000 cars sold in the Middle East by 2030, the carmakers said Friday.

Hyundai Motor's NEXO hydrogen fuel cell SUV is shipped on a vessel headed to Saudi Arabia in 2020. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Hyundai Motor and Kia set a combined sales target of 550,000 cars sold in the Middle East by 2030, the carmakers said Friday.

That will account for some 20 percent of the entire market in the region, which includes 14 countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.

Of the 2.29 million cars sold in the Middle Eastern market last year, Hyundai took an 8 percent share with 182,934 units sold and Kia 6.2 percent with 141,505 units.

As of September, the two companies’ sales this year came in at 281,097 in total, which is a 14.2 percent increase from the same period last year.

Hyundai saw 17.7 percent growth in sales from January to September, with Avante — also known as Elantra —, Tucson and Accent being some of the most popular models. Kia logged 9.7 percent sales growth, with the Sportage, Pegas and Seltos as the most sought-after models.

As the demand in the region is expected to reach 3 million units by 2030, Hyundai and Kia’s combined sales need to grow 6.8 percent every year through the next seven years in order to meet the target.

Hyundai aims to sell 350,000 cars in 2032, while Kia set a target to sell 210,000 cars by 2030.

“Hyundai and Kia entered the Middle East nearly half a century ago, and the market has given us confidence that Korean cars could make it in the global market,” said a spokesperson for the Hyundai Motor Group.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]