Hyundai Motor Group's EV sales volume tops 100,000 in U.S. in 8 years

SEOUL, Feb. 13 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. sales volume of electric vehicles (EVs) of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group has surpassed the 100,000 mark on a cumulative basis since its first EV launch in the world's largest economy eight years ago, industry data showed Monday.

The group's three brands -- Hyundai, Genesis and Kia -- had sold a total of 104,326 EVs in the United States as of end-January this year, according to the industry data. Hyundai first entered the U.S. EV market in October 2014 with the launch of the Kia Soul EV.

Hyundai has sold 51,096 units since 2017 and shipped 1,964 of the premium Genesis EVs since its U.S. release last year. Kia has sold 51,266 EVs since 2014.

In 2017, Hyundai introduced IONIQ EVs, but the overall annual EV sales volume had hovered around 1,000-2,000 until 2018.

The upswing came with the launch of SUV EV lineups, including Kia's Niro and Hyundai Kona EVs. The sales volume rose to 7,772 in 2019 and 19,590 in 2021.

Last year, the number nearly tripled to 58,028 from the previous year, on the back of the popularity of the Hyundai IONIQ 5, Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60.

By model, the IONIQ 5 was the most popular with 24,683 vehicles sold so far, followed by 23,380 Niro EVs, 21,608 Kia EV6s, 20,560 Kona Electrics and 6,728 Kia Soul EVs.

Hyundai said in a recent earnings call that it aims to sell 73,000 EVs in the U.S. this year. Kia set the target at 58,000 for 2023.

An undated photo of an IONIQ 5 is shown in this photo provided by Hyundai Motor. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)