Kia records sales record, also growth for Hyundai

The trees grow to the heavens for Kia, it seems. In 2022, Kia was the largest in the Netherlands and achieved a sales record here and in Europe; 2023 was even good for a worldwide record, it now appears. The South Korean brand managed to sell a total of more than 3.08 million cars in the past year. A growth of 6.3 percent compared to 2022 and enough to wipe out an almost ten-year-old sales record. In 2014, Kia sold more than 3.03 million cars worldwide.

The biggest driver of success was the Kia Sportage. That was Kia’s most popular model worldwide in 2023, good for more than 523,000 units sold. The Kia Seltos, which was renewed in 2022, finished in second place, a slightly more compact SUV that we do not know here. Of these, more than 344,000 went over the proverbial counter. Kia says it owes the record to the introduction of new models such as the Kia EV9 and Sorento, but also to improvements in the supply of microchips. In 2022, the global chip shortage will affect many car manufacturers.

The Kia Seltos is for sale in the United States, among others.

Kia also achieved a sales record in the Netherlands in 2023. Here, 33,565 Kias were registered in the past year, more than ever in a year and a growth of 11.5 percent. Once again, the Picanto was by far the most popular Kia here (10,550 units), followed by the Niro (7,428) and the Sportage (4,398). With 3,481 units, the Kia Ceed was also ahead of the fully electric Kia EV6 (2,757 units). Unlike 2022, Kia did not finish at the top, because Volkswagen sold slightly more cars.

Hyundai is taking an even bigger step

Sister company Hyundai Motor Company (which also includes luxury brand Genesis) has also had a good year. In 2023, almost 4.22 million new Hyundai and Genesis cars were registered worldwide. This means a growth of 6.9 percent compared to a year earlier, so somewhat greater growth than at Kia. However, it was not a record year for Hyundai. Hyundai is a bit more brief in its analysis of sales growth, but mentions, among other things, the arrival of the new Kona and Santa Fe as important milestones in the past year. Sales increased significantly in the home country of South Korea in particular: 10.6 percent more cars were sold there than in 2022.

In the Netherlands, almost 19,000 new Hyundais were added in 2023, more than 10 percent more than in 2022. However, Hyundai dropped from sixth to ninth place in the top 10 brands. As with Kia, the smallest is also the most popular: the Hyundai i10 sold 4,346 units, just ahead of the Hyundai Tucson, of which 4,343 were registered. The Hyundai Kona came in at 3,056 units and the fully electric Ioniq 5 at 2,280.

Hyundai Santa Fe

That leaves you wanting more

Both Kia and Hyundai want to sell even more cars worldwide by 2024. After this record of almost 3.1 million cars, Kia hopes to increase to 3.2 million units in the new year. Hyundai Motor Group wants to go from 4.22 million to 4.24 million this year. Part of that growth will therefore also have to come from Genesis, which currently plays a relatively small role here in Europe, but still has the ambition to expand. Here in the Netherlands, that expansion will not happen this year.