Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
Kia K8 overwhelms Hyundai Grandeur in full-size sedan market
Kia's K8 sedan / Courtesy of Kia
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
Kia's new K8 sedan has emerged as the top pick for full-size sedan lovers here, as its sales recently surpassed Hyundai Motor's Grandeur sedan, which has been a steady-selling model for more than three decades.
According to Kia, the company sold 6,008 K8 sedans in July while its sister company Hyundai Motor sold 5,247 Grandeur sedans during the same period. Since the model was first launched in the Korean market in April, the company has sold a total of 22,063 K8 sedans.
The K8, which comes with four engine types ― 2.5-liter gasoline, 3.5-liter gasoline, 3.5-liter liquefied petroleum injection (LPG) and 1.6-liter gasoline turbo hybrid ― is a direct follow-up to the K7, which was sold as the Cadenza in overseas markets.
The soaring popularity of the K8 comes as a surprise in the Korean market where the Grandeur has shown its dominance. In 2020, Kia sold 41,048 K7 sedans while the sales of the Grandeur was 145,463.
It's been about three years since Kia surpassed Hyundai in the full-size sedan segment in terms of monthly sales. Kia once overtook the Grandeur in terms of sales with the K7 for three months in 2019 from July to September, but lost the No. 1 position to Hyundai Motor after the carmaker launched the sixth-generation Grandeur that year.
Drivers have been giving more attention to the K8, which is more spacious and features advanced convenient features than the Grandeur. Views are that the K8 is expected to take the lead in the full-size sedan market for a while until Hyundai releases next-generation Grandeur, which is expected for next year.
Overall, Kia overtook Hyundai in terms of sales last month. Data showed that Kia sold 42,774 cars in July while Hyundai recorded 32,883. In the mid-size sedan segment, Kia sold 5,777 K5 sedans to overtake Hyundai's Sonata, which recorded 3,712 sales.
As seen in the K8's case, Kia will be able to extend its lead over Hyundai Motor as the latter's car models such as the Grandeur, the Sonata and the Palisade are set to be completely or partially changed next year.