Hyundai Motor Group Surpasses 30 Million Cumulative Sales in the U.S. After 39 Years

Seven years after reaching 20 million units in 2018... 15 years faster than Toyota and 8 years faster than Honda

Hyundai and Kia Headquarters [Provided by Hyundai Motor Group. Not for redistribution or resale]

Hyundai Motor Group has surpassed 30 million cumulative sales in the U.S. market.

This achievement comes approximately 39 years after its entry into the United States. Hyundai Motor Group plans to further strengthen its position in the U.S. through localized production facilities and a specialized strategy focused on eco-friendly vehicles and SUVs, overcoming tariff hurdles.

According to Hyundai Motor Group on the 4th, Hyundai and Kia have sold a total of 30,107,257 units in the U.S. market as of July.

The sales figures by company are 17,552,003 for Hyundai and 12,555,254 for Kia.

Surpassing 30 million cumulative sales took 39 years and 6 months since Hyundai's entry into the U.S. in 1986.

This achievement is faster than that of Toyota and Honda, considered Hyundai and Kia's biggest rivals in the U.S. market. Toyota, which entered the U.S. in 1958, and Honda, which entered in 1970, surpassed 30 million cumulative sales in 54 years (2012) and 47 years (2017), respectively.

Hyundai Motor Group is the third complete vehicle manufacturer, excluding domestic brands, to surpass 30 million sales in the U.S., following Toyota and Honda.

Hyundai entered the U.S. market in January 1986 by exporting the Excel sedan produced at its Ulsan plant. Kia established its U.S. sales subsidiary in 1992 and entered the U.S. market in February 1994 with its first independent models, the Sephia sedan and Sportage SUV.

Hyundai and Kia's cumulative sales surpassed 1 million units in 1990 and exceeded 5 million units in 2004. In 2011, they reached the 10 million mark, and then, selling approximately 1.2 to 1.4 million units annually, they surpassed 20 million units in 2018. Last year, they sold a record-breaking 1,708,293 units.

While it took 25 years to surpass 10 million cumulative sales, it took only 7 years to add another 10 million units each time.

Hyundai and Kia have accelerated their sales growth by establishing production bases in the U.S. and expanding their supply capacity.

Hyundai completed its first production plant in Alabama in 2005, and Kia completed its first production plant in Georgia in 2010. In March, Hyundai Motor Group's third plant, the 'Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America' (HMGMA), was completed in Savannah, Georgia.

Hyundai and Kia have been responding to U.S. market demand by focusing on eco-friendly vehicles, SUVs, and Genesis.

The strategy is to increase local market share by absorbing the impact of the 25% U.S. auto tariff, imposed since April, without price increases and through flexible production strategy changes.

Lee Seung-jo, Head of Hyundai Motor's Planning & Finance Division, stated during the Q2 earnings conference call, "We are implementing a strategy to maximize profitability while defending market share."

Kim Seung-joon, Head of Kia's Finance Division, also announced, "Given the projected decrease in electric vehicle sales due to the repeal of tax credits, we plan to strengthen sales of hybrid vehicles (HEV) and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to expand our market share from 5.1% in the first half to 6%." Yonhap News