Automakers will roll out a variety of eco-friendly new models in Korea in the second half. In the domestic market, electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for half of new cars sold in the first half, and the share of eco-friendly cars has been growing rapidly recently.
According to the auto industry on the 11th, Hyundai Motor will launch the GV90, a large flagship electric sport-utility vehicle (SUV) of the luxury Genesis brand, and the GV80 hybrid, a midsize SUV, in the second half. Hybrid models will also be included for the fully redesigned new Avante and Tucson, and for the Santa Fe, which is getting a facelift.
Set for release in September, the GV90 is the first model to roll off Hyundai Motor's dedicated electric-vehicle plant in Ulsan, built with an investment of about 2 trillion won. It will be the first to use Hyundai Motor's next-generation EV platform "eM," and expectations are that it will offer a range of 800 km on a single charge.
That same month, Genesis' first hybrid model, the GV80 hybrid, will also be released. At the end of the year, the hybrid version of the midsize sedan G80 is also scheduled to be unveiled.
The eighth-generation The All New Avante, unveiled at the "2026 Busan Mobility Show" on the in the last month, is a compact sedan and will launch next month with a 2.0 gasoline model and a 1.6 hybrid model. The compact SUV Tucson, which is being fully redesigned for the first time in six years, and the midsize SUV Santa Fe, which is getting a facelift, will both be sold with two powertrains: gasoline and hybrid.
According to Kaizuyu Data Research Institute, 853,969 new cars were registered in the first half of this year, up 1.3% from a year earlier. Eco-friendly cars accounted for 49.9% of that total. By contrast, Hyundai Motor's sales during the same period fell 10.8% from a year earlier to 316,713 units.
With hybrids added to core volume models in the second half and both electric and hybrid vehicles added to the Genesis brand, expectations are that Hyundai Motor's sales performance will improve.
Imported carmakers also plan to launch several eco-friendly new models in the second half.
Tesla will introduce the Model Y Standard, an entry variant of its midsize SUV Model Y. This version trims convenience features from the existing Model Y in exchange for a lower price. It was released first in the U.S. market last year at a price about $5,000 (about 7.6 million won) lower than the premium Model Y.
Volvo is set to launch the ES90, a midsize electric sedan, at the end of this month. Mercedes-Benz will also introduce the GLC with EQ Technology in the Korean market, which was unveiled last year. Alongside that, it will release the electric version of the compact sedan CLA equipped with "Alphamaio," a next-generation Autonomous Driving platform developed by Nvidia.
Following last month's launch of the iX3, an electric midsize SUV, BMW will begin sales in the second half of a facelifted version of its large 7 Series sedan. The i7, the electric variant of the 7 Series, will also get a facelifted version.