Hyundai Motor Group's European sales in June rebounded for the first time in three months. While Hyundai Motor(005380) sales fell more than 2% from a year earlier, Kia(000270) sales rose by nearly 16%. However, because the gain lagged the broader European market's growth, Hyundai Motor and Kia saw their market shares slip from a year earlier.
On the 23rd, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said Hyundai Motor Group sold 99,523 vehicles in Europe last month. That was up 6.5% from a year earlier, rebounding after declines in April and May. Considering total European sales in the same period rose 13.1% year over year to 1,407,332 units, Hyundai Motor Group fell short of the market's growth rate. The group's market share came to 7.1%, up 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier.
Kia largely drove Hyundai Motor Group's first sales rebound in three months. Kia sold 53,041 vehicles in Europe last month, up 15.8% from a year earlier. After returning to growth of 2.7% in February, it has risen for five straight months. In Europe, Kia has pursued a strategy of expanding its EV-focused lineup around the internal-combustion Sportage, and that strategy appears to be paying off.
Hyundai Motor, by contrast, has posted negative growth for three consecutive months. Hyundai Motor's European sales last month were 46,482 units, down 2.4% from a year earlier. It marked the sixth straight month this year that it trailed Kia. The good news is that the double-digit declines since April narrowed to single digits. Kia's market share was 3.8%, and Hyundai Motor's was 3.3%.
With Hyundai Motor's slump lingering in Europe this year, Hyundai Motor Group's cumulative sales are also declining. The group sold 534,525 vehicles in the first half, down 0.8% from a year earlier. Hyundai Motor fell 8.7% to 243,828 units, while Kia rose 6.9% to 290,697. During the same period, the overall European market grew 6.1% year over year to 7,232,066 vehicles.
Hyundai Motor plans to deploy the Ioniq 3, a small electric hatchback, in Europe in the second half and launch the new Tucson to spur a sales rebound.