Global cumulative sales of electric vehicles (EVs) by South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. surpassed 1 million units as of last year, 11 years after Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) began selling EVs in 2011.

According to HMG on Tuesday, Hyundai Motor sold 601,448 units between 2011 and 2022 and its smaller sibling Kia 420,836 units.

HMG’s first-ever EV was BlueOn, which began sales in Korea in July 2011. EV sales remained at 236 units in 2011 but they surpassed 10,000 units for the first time in 2015 on the back of popular Soul EV. EV sales doubled after the release of IONIQ Electric in 2017.

HMG’s annual EV sales reached 100,000 units in 2019, with high demand for compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) EVs such as the Kona Electric and Niro EV in Europe. HMG released IONIQ 5, EV6, and GV60 based on its EV-dedicated platform, E-GMP, in 2021, and IONIQ 6 sedan in 2022. Sales increased by more than 100,000 units last year from the previous year.

Global sales of EVs based on E-GMP reached 305,632 units as of last year, marking the first time for the sales to exceed 300,000 units in 21 months after the launch of the first model IONIQ 5 in April 2021. The best-selling model was the KONA Electric, followed by Niro EV, IONIQ 5, and EV6.

HMG plans to release 31 additional EV models by 2030.

By Lee Young-wook and Han Yubin

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