Volkswagen and Toyota are still vying for the top two spots.
Hyundai looks to become the #2 biggest seller of EVs in the US.
Twenty years ago, few would have guessed that the then 35-year-old South Korean automaker had it in it to seriously challenge the likes of Ford, GM, Daimler-Chrysler/FCA/Stellantis, Nissan, and others for market share and sales volume. Here we are in late 2022, only a few days from 2023, and Hyundai’s crushed all save for two car companies.
2024 Kia Seltos | Photo : Kia
Value, design, and technology have been driving forces behind Hyundai, Kia, and most recently Genesis’ global success. The automaker began its global expansion plans back in the 1980s and has not looked back since.
“We are on the right track, and this year we were very strong,” President and co-Chief Executive Officer Jaehoon Chang, 58, said in an interview from a library at Hyundai’s Seoul headquarters last week as reported by Bloomberg. “Our supply chain management was key. We’re trying to be flexible, and optimize and protect production as much as we can in spite of the chip shortage.”
In 2021, Hyundai sold more than 6.6 million units with nearly a quarter coming from their home base in Ulsan. Like all other car companies, they’ve faced and will continue to deal with higher raw material costs and an ongoing global chip shortage. As well, allegations that Hyundai’s suppliers in Alabama hired underage workers and numerous quality and safety recalls plague the automaker but despite these setbacks, they continue to grow.
In fact, their revenue is on track to increase a further 21% in 2022 outpacing all other major car companies. Electric vehicles are playing and will continue to be key in this expansion. In fact, so strong is their EV portfolio that they are challenging Ford for the #2 spot in EV sales in the US behind only Tesla.
