Hyundai Motor Group sells record No. of green vehicles in U.S. in May

Hyundai Motor‘s Ioniq 5

South Korea’s auto giant Hyundai Motor Group has achieved a new record for monthly sales of eco-friendly vehicles in the United States.

According to the conglomerate on Monday, Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. sold a combined 159,558 vehicles in the U.S. in May, marking a rebound just one month after a sales decline in April.

Compared to the same period a year earlier, sales rose 8.5 percent in May.

Among global automakers that have disclosed their May sales data, Hyundai Motor Group ranked second in terms of sales growth, following Toyota (15.7 percent).

Monthly sales at Honda Motor Co. jumped 6.4 percent in May, Subaru Corp. increased 7 percent, and Mazda Motor Corp. gained 6.9 percent.

The rebound in Hyundai Motor Group’s sales in the U.S. was driven by increased sales of eco-friendly vehicles, including hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid EVs, battery EVs, and fuel cell EVs.

The combined sales of Hyundai Motor Group’s eco-friendly models increased by 30.9 percent year-over-year to 34,288 units in May, setting a new monthly sales record in the U.S. The share of eco-friendly vehicles in its entire sales also exceeded 20 percent for the first time, reaching 21.5 percent.

[Graphics by Song Ji-yoon and Chang Iou-chung]

Hyundai Motor led hybrid sales with a record 13,245 units, while Kia led electric vehicle sales with 7,197 units, breaking the monthly sales record for all-electric vehicles for the second consecutive month.

Riding on the recovery of its U.S. sales, Hyundai Motor Group is launching a major campaign to encourage customers to switch to EVs, contrasting with other major global automakers who are significantly revising their electrification strategies due to a slowdown in EV demand.

Kia‘s EV9

Meanwhile, in Korea, Kia unveiled the specifications and pricing of its small electric sports utility vehicle, the Kia EV3, on Monday, and has started receiving orders.

The price is set at 42.08 million won ($30,603) before EV tax benefits, and 39.95 million won after eco-friendly vehicle registration completion.

With government and local subsidies, the actual purchase price is expected to drop to the low-to-mid 30 million won range. In regions with larger subsidies, the price could fall to the mid-20 million won range.