Hyundai and Kia combined ranks 2nd in Q3 EV sales

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors combined has ranked second in global electric vehicle (EV) sales in the third quarter, according to market tracker EV Volumes.

Tesla remained the undisputed top vendor in EV during the quarter.

A total of 865,000 EV units were sold in the quarter. It is the highest ever for a single quarter, the market research firm said. It is a rise of 93% year over year and increase of 43% from the previous quarter.

In the month of September alone, 358,000 units were sold. 

Accumulated shipment for the first three quarters of 2020 stood at 1.86 million units. It is highly likely that the full year shipment will exceed that of 2019’s 2.21 million units, EV Volumes said, and the market has completely recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tesla sold the most units with 14,582 units during the third quarter. This is double that of second place Volkswagen which sold 50,927 units.

Hyundai ranked sixth with 33,958 and Kia tenth with 30,921 units. The two combined sold 64,879 units, which exceeds Volkswagen’s figures. 

BYD sold 48,052 units and placed third, followed by BMW’s 44,958 units and Mercedes-Benz’s 40,826 units.

Per model, Tesla’s Model 3 was the most popular with 97,704 units sold. Renault Zoe was the fourth most popular at 27,326 units.

Hyundai’s Kona EV, which are embroiled in a scandal over them being set on fire while charging, moved 18,873 units. Kia Niro EV sold 13,052 units.

Europe overtook China as the biggest market in the quarter. A total of 379,000 units were sold in Europe in the quarter while 340,000 units were moved in China.

Germany was the most noticeable with 111,000 units sold in the quarter, a rise of 162% from the previous quarter and a jump of 289% year over year. The recent increase in EV subsidies likely propelled this growth. In June, Germany increased subsidies for EV to 9,000 euros from the previous 6,000 euros. The subsidies will be provided up to next year.

Strong sales of EV in Europe will likely boost the performances of South Korean battery makers. LG Chem, Samsung SDI and SK Innovation all supply to Volkswagen. LG Chem supplies to Renault; Samsung SDI to BMW; SK Innovation to Mercedes-Benz. 

EV Volumes expect 3 million EV units to be shipped this year, an increase of 32% from 2019. This will grow further to 4.5 million to 4.8 million in 2021, the firm said.