Seoul 15 August : South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group said on Monday that it placed third in the first half of global vehicle sales due to increased sales of luxury models despite the absence of auto chips. Hyundai Motor, its independent Genesis brand, and Hyundai’s affiliate Kia Corp.sold a total of 3.299 million vehicles in the world’s markets in the period between January and June in comparison to Toyota Motor Group’s 5.138 million units and Volkswagen Group’s 4.006 million units as per their sales figures.
In the initial six months of the year, an increase in the sales of Genesis models, including the all-electric Hyundai IONIQ 5 as well as the electric pure Kia EV6 pushed up the Korean carmaker’s sales rankings according to Yonhap news agency.
The group’s ranking increased from sixth with numbers of 3.475 million automobiles in the first quarter of 2021.
The Korean automaker’s sales in the first half dropped 5.1 percent from the same period last year and was better than its global rivals.
Toyota Group’s sales dropped by 6 percent, while Volkswagen Group’s sales dropped 14 percent, Stellantis’ shed 16 percent and General Motors plunged 19 per cent.
Stellantis is a 50:50 joint venture which was set in the wake of the merger of U.S.car maker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.and French automaker PSA Groupe.
Hyundai Motor said last week it would invest $424 million to construct an artificial intelligence (AI) research center in the US to increase its competitiveness in robotics, a subject it believes is a major growth driver for the future.
na/
.
