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.
Hyundai, Kia's E-GMP EV sales surpass 100,000 in US
Hyundai Motor's IONIQ 5 electric vehicle / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
By Baek Byung-yeul
Hyundai Motor and Kia continued to grow their electric vehicle (EV) sales in the United States, especially EVs based on the automotive group’s EV-dedicated platform E-GMP which have surpassed 100,000 sales there, according to the automotive group, Sunday.
To meet demand from the rapidly growing EV market, Hyundai Motor Group launched the E-GMP platform in 2021 enabling installation of battery cells in the lower center of the car chasis for more stable driving.
The automotive group said it has launched four E-GMP-based EVs in the U.S. since the debut of Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 5 in 2021. They include Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 6, Kia’s EV6 and Genesis GV60.
From December 2021 to October this year, the total sales of the four EVs in the U.S. were 101,976. Among the four models, the IONIQ 5 was the best-selling with 51,420 vehicles sold. The EV6 followed with 36,838, the IONIQ 6 with 9,557 and the Genesis GV60 with 4,161.
This year only, the automotive group sold 77,772 EVs until October, up 53.7 percent from the same period in 2022. Hyundai Motor showed more growth than Kia as it sold 51,564 EVs in the first 10 months of this year, up 109.2 percent year-on-year. During the same period, Kia sold 26,208 EVs, up slightly.
Hyundai Motor's luxury brand Genesis is also making inroads into the U.S. EV market. In addition to E-GMP-based GV60, Genesis sells a total of three EVs there, including the GV70 Electrified and the G80 Electrified. The three models have sold a combined 4,361 in the first 10 months of the year.
Stating that it has been witnessing a steady increase in eco-friendly vehicles in the U.S., a group spokesperson said “We will continue to increase our sales and brand awareness in the U.S. EV market by expanding our product lineup, including the launch of Kia’s EV9 at the end of this year, and by implementing active sales strategies that match the market situation.”
Although their sales are lower than the expected target of 131,000 for 2023, Hyundai Motor and Kia are expected to surpass the 200,000-unit mark in sales by early 2024. They plan to expand their local production capacity by building a dedicated EV plant in Georgia, with an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles.
Industry insiders see Hyundai Motor Group's achievements as significant given they are not able to provide subsidy benefits to customers who purchase EVs in the U.S.
The automotive group has been selling its EVs there without the maximum $7,500 subsidy for more than a year since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides subsidies only for EVs that are finally assembled in the U.S., was implemented in August 2022. The group will be eligible for subsidies when its first EV plant in Georgia is completed in the second half of 2024.