Hyundai Motor Group's sales in the European market in May fell for the second straight month. Its market share also slipped to 7.5%, down 0.5 percentage points from a year earlier. The drop was largely due to Hyundai Motor's sales plunging about 19%. Kia's sales rose by nearly 15%, but that was not enough to offset the slump.
According to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) on the 23rd, Hyundai Motor Group sold 86,444 vehicles in Europe last month. That was down 2.4% from a year earlier, marking a second consecutive monthly decline. Given that total European sales during the same period rose 3.6% to 1,152,523, the group was effectively left out of the market's growth. Hyundai Motor Group's May market share also fell 0.5 percentage points to 7.5% from 8.0% a year earlier.
The slump was largely driven by Hyundai Motor. Hyundai Motor's May sales were 37,062 vehicles, down 18.8% from the same period a year earlier. Following -10.4% in April, it was a double-digit decline for the second month in a row. Hyundai Motor's monthly European sales were ahead of Kia as recently as December last year, at 50,939 versus Kia's 32,314, but since January this year, Hyundai Motor has recorded lower sales than Kia for five consecutive months.
Kia, by contrast, sold 49,382 vehicles in Europe in May, up 14.9% from a year earlier. After a 6.6% decrease in January, sales turned up 2.7% in February and then rose for four straight months. As a result, market shares were tallied at 4.3% for Kia and 3.2% for Hyundai.
Among the models Kia sold in Europe in May, the "Sportage" led with 13,643 units. The "Morning" (5,871) and "Stonic" (4,788) also ranked near the top. Hyundai Motor's best seller was the "Tucson" (10,994), followed by the "Kona" (6,620) and the "i20" (4,544).
For eco-friendly vehicles, Kia mainly sold the "EV3" (4,591), "EV4" (2,886), and "Niro" (2,698). Hyundai Motor sold 5,345 Tucson hybrids (HEV) and 1,531 Tucson plug-in hybrids (PHEV), while the "Kona" (3,251 HEVs and 2,312 EVs) and the "Inster" (3,007) were also cited as key sellers.