Hyundai Motor Group aims to expand its market share in the U.K., Europe’s second-largest car market, targeting annual sales of 200,000 units. After achieving record sales in the first half of this year, the company is on track to meet this goal.
According to the U.K.’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on the 10th, the three brands of the Hyundai Motor Group (Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis) sold 107,326 units in the U.K. market in the first half of this year, accounting for a 10.66% market share. This represents a 1.3% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Last year, the group sold a record 196,239 units in the U.K., achieving a market share of 10.31%, surpassing the previous highest annual sales of 186,625 units in 2017. Both the number of units sold and market share are on the rise this year.
From January to June this year, Hyundai Motor Group’s market share in the U.K. was at 10.66%, maintaining a 10% market share for the third consecutive year, following 11.25% in 2022 and 10.31% in 2023. This means one in every ten new cars sold in the U.K. is a Hyundai Motor Group vehicle. Among brands, Hyundai ranks ninth, while Kia ranks fourth. Notably, Kia’s Sportage SUV was the second best-selling car in the first half of this year with 24,139 units sold. Hyundai’s Tucson SUV sold 16,182 units, ranking ninth.
Hyundai Motor Group is focusing on expanding its lineup of eco-friendly vehicles, including electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids, in the U.K. market, which is rapidly shifting towards eco-friendliness. Consequently, about half (49.5%) of the group’s local sales in the U.K. are eco-friendly vehicles. The group’s sales of eco-friendly vehicles in the U.K. have steadily increased from 36,750 units in 2020 to 61,706 units in 2021, 86,294 units in 2022, and 91,447 units in 2023, growing to an annual scale of 100,000 units.
In the U.K., the share of eco-friendly vehicle sales is nearing 40%. Within this segment, EVs constitute 16.6%, hybrids 13.7%, and plug-in hybrids 8.1%.
Hyundai (including Genesis) has been aggressively expanding its lineup. This year, it introduced the Ioniq 5 N to the U.K. market, expanding its EV lineup from two models (Ioniq, Kona EV) in 2020 to seven models (Kona EV, Ioniq 5, Ioniq 5 N, Ioniq 6, GV60, GV70 EV, G80 EV) in just four years. Kia has also expanded its EV models to four (Soul EV, Niro EV, EV6, EV9) with the addition of the EV9, which was introduced to the U.K. market through a nationwide dealer roadshow in the latter half of last year. Furthermore, Hyundai plans to sell new models of the Santa Fe, focusing on two eco-friendly types, hybrids and plug-in hybrids, excluding gasoline models from previous models.
Following the Kia EV9’s 2024 U.K. Car of the Year award in March, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N was selected as the Best Hot Hatch Electric Car at the 2024 Top Gear Electric Car Awards in May, signifying the brand’s growth in both quantity and quality.
The group is also strengthening its ties with society in the U.K. Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui Sun was awarded the Order of the British Empire by Prince Charles, in recognition of his 11-year sponsorship of the Tate Modern, a leading art institution. The group is also expanding academic-industry collaborations on future strategies and regional studies with the University of Oxford and the University of London.
