Hyundai Motor sets sales target for certified used vehicles to 15,000 for 2024

Hyundai Motor has set a sales target for its certified used vehicles to 15,000 this year and added electric vehicles (EVs) to its lineup from March, the automaker said Sunday.

The company started its much-delayed certified used vehicle business in October last year, and has since sold a total of 1,057 vehicles via its online and offline platforms. However, the company only focused on selling vehicles powered by conventional internal combustion engines so far.

Now the automaker expects that the planned sales of EVs will add more vibrancy to the business, as demand for more price-competitive EVs remains high amid the auto industry’s ongoing paradigm shift toward environmentally friendly vehicles.

The move will help the company defend itself against possibly weak EV industry growth this year. According to data from auto market tracker CarIsYou, Korea’s EV sales growth reached a high of 115.1 percent in 2021 from a year earlier. Overall consensus from the market is that the global EV industry will grow at just the mid-20 percent range this year, as customers become more sensitive to high EV prices due to prolonged high interest rates.

Hyundai Motor has been in an internal review over how to alleviate lingering customer concerns as to the credibility of batteries in used EVs. The company is teaming up with its Namyang R&D Center on ways to certify batteries for its secondhand EVs. Details of the measures will be announced before the automaker starts its EV sales in March.

The company plans to diversify its EV sales lineup, encompassing not only its flagship IONIQ series, but also other electric models, such as the Kona Electric.

The annual sales target of 15,000 is a combination of sales in the business-to-business (B2B) category as well as those sold to individual customers.

To purchase more quality used vehicles, the automaker also plans to increase the number of incentives for those selling their vehicles to Hyundai’s certified used car platform. Last year, the company offered an additional reward worth 2 percent of their used vehicle price, but the figure will rise to 4 percent this year.

Due to targeted demand from Seoul and its surrounding cities, the company will also open a new certified used car center in the metropolitan area soon. So far, it operates two centers — one in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, and one in Yangsan in South Gyeongsang Province.

“Our launch of the used car business enabled local customers to purchase quality secondhand vehicles that are certified by the manufacturer, just like our overseas counterparts,” an official from Hyundai Motor said. “We will keep elevating the overall credibility of the used vehicle market and expand its size here.”