[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Hyundai Motor Group and Toyota, two leading Korean and Japanese auto companies, received conflicting reports in major auto markets in the first half of the year (January to June). Toyota maintained the top spot in global sales, but its influence in major markets such as the U.S. and Europe has decreased. Hyundai Motor Group, on the other hand, is showing rapid growth, achieving the highest sales record ever in the advanced automobile market.

According to the results of the second quarter (April to June) of major global automakers on the 31st, Toyota sold 5,419,841 units in the first half of the year, up 5.5% from a year earlier. Hyundai Motor Group sold 3,657,563 units, up 10.9%, ranking third after Germany's Volkswagen Group (4,372,000 units).

Although Toyota is ahead of Hyundai Motor Group with more than 1.76 million units in global sales, the story is different when looking at sales by major markets.

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. each posted record sales in the first half of the year in the U.S., boosting their local market share. According to Automotive News, a U.S. auto media outlet, Hyundai and Kia sold 425,847 and 394,333 units, up 15.2 percent and 18.3 percent from a year earlier, respectively. Hyundai Motor Group's market share in the U.S. auto market is 10.6 percent, up 0.3 percentage point from the same period last year. The ranking also rose to fourth place, beating Stellatis (10.5%) during this period.

During the same period, Toyota's market share also fell 1.8 percentage points from a year earlier to 13.5 percent as U.S. sales fell 0.7 percent. Toyota is the only one among the "Big Four (GM, Toyota, Ford and Hyundai Motor Group)" in the U.S. market whose sales volume has declined.

In the European market, Hyundai Motor Group also sold 575,432 units, up 3.3 percent in the first half, beating Toyota (547,655 units), which remained at a 2.8 percent increase. Hyundai Motor Group's sales volume is the highest in Europe as of the first half of the year. The combined sales of Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles (BEV) in Europe fell 8.6% year-on-year to only 10,240 units, but they are far ahead of Toyota, which sold less than 10,000 units (7,554 units) last year.

 

[ⓒ AlphaBIZ. 무단전재-재배포 금지]