Hyundai’s Electric Vehicle Push Is Absolutely Working

There’s one automaker that stands in stark distinction to all of the doom-filled headlines about uneven electric vehicle sales in 2023, and that’s Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group. Whereas final yr noticed report EV gross sales from nearly each model that bothers to promote them, it additionally noticed uneven buying, questions over demand and continued points with software program and public charging. However the information from final yr more and more reveals that Hyundai’s method—constructing a number of the world’s greatest EVs at pretty aggressive worth factors—is paying off handsomely, and that development appears solely poised to speed up in 2024.

A brand new report out at this time from BloombergNEF, the information wire’s power analysis arm, signifies that based mostly on preliminary gross sales information, Hyundai and Kia collectively made up greater than 8% of the brand new EVs bought within the U.S. final yr. (BloombergNEF lumped gross sales of the Genesis luxurious fashions in with Hyundai.)

Which means not solely did Hyundai Motor Group outpace Common Motors and Ford at EV gross sales, however the Korean firm is now the quantity two automaker within the U.S. behind Tesla. (As a single, standalone model, nevertheless, Ford is still ahead of the Koreans.) 

That is large, and it is proof that Hyundai’s all-in method to EVs is working. Furthermore, it is proof that a number of the huge gambles Hyundai has made lately—on design, on tech and options People need—appear to have been the precise strikes. 

“Hyundai’s EVs stand out due to their spectacular charging energy and effectivity,” BloombergNEF EV analyst Corey Cantor wrote. “The Ioniq 5 can make the most of 350-kilowatt chargers, whereas the Ioniq 6 is likely one of the best EV sedans presently available on the market, with an Environmental Safety Company–rated effectivity of 4.6 miles per kilowatt-hour. Kia’s electrical vehicles have additionally had a powerful yr, with the EV9, the brand new three-row SUV launched in December, hitting over 1,000 models bought in only one month.”

All of that is equally spectacular contemplating nearly none of Hyundai Motor Group’s EVs certified for any tax credit final yr, except they have been leased; the automaker did see a great deal of sales success there, nevertheless. BloombergNEF signifies that in November, 44% of Ioniq 5 gross sales have been leases, about double what the model usually does. 

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InsideEVs will problem our own official sales reports on Hyundai, Kia and Genesis EV gross sales within the coming weeks when last reviews are in, however BloombergNEF’s findings track with much of our own data throughout 2023. And it tracks with my own predictions for 2024: that the Korean automaker lastly deserves to be thought of on par with Tesla and BYD because the rising world energy gamers on this area. What’s extra, the Kia EV9 three-row crossover is barely on sale but, however early opinions and tendencies point out it is destined to be one other hit. 

However as Cantor identified in an e mail to InsideEVs, some questions stay. Whereas Hyundai Motor Group as an entire is handsomely worthwhile (and gross sales of all of its vehicles have grown exponentially), it is unclear how a lot revenue—if any—it’s making from its EVs. It is also unclear if these gross sales milestones observe with any of Hyundai’s inside targets. 

Nonetheless, it is additional proof that if anybody is not being attentive to what Hyundai is doing proper now, that should change and shortly.

Contact the creator: patrick.george@insideevs.com