Hyundai Motor and Kia achieved record vehicle sales in the United States in January, driven by high demand for SUVs and hybrid models. The two automakers collectively sold 125,296 vehicles, marking a 7.7% increase from the previous year. Hyundai Motor, along with its luxury brand Genesis, sold 60,794 units, a 2.4% rise year-on-year, while Kia experienced a 13.1% surge with 64,502 units sold, both achieving their best January sales ever.
Hyundai Motor’s success was propelled by robust SUV sales, with the Palisade SUV seeing a 28.7% increase in sales to 8,604 units and the Kona compact SUV rising by 21.9% to 5,321 units. Kia’s sales growth was driven by significant increases in key models, including an 85.8% spike in Seltos compact SUV sales to 5,278 units and a 60.4% surge in Carnival minivan sales to 5,879 units. The combined hybrid vehicle sales of the two companies saw a substantial 65.7% surge to 27,489 units, with Hyundai Motor and Kia recording increases of 51.9% and 83.8%, respectively.
On the other hand, electric vehicle (EV) sales for Hyundai Motor and Kia experienced a 33.7% decline year-on-year to 4,471 units, attributed to the impact of auto tariffs and subsidy reductions in Washington. In South Korea, imported vehicle sales saw a notable 37.6% rise in January compared to the previous year, driven by strong demand for Tesla and BYD EV models. The three top-selling models were the Mercedes-Benz E 200 sedan, BMW 520 sedan, and Tesla Model Y, with Tesla sales surging to 1,966 units from just five a year earlier and BYD sales totaling 1,347 units.
