2022 is about to go down in history. A year marked by problems for many manufacturers, but not for the Hyundai Group. The Koreans rise to third place in the world thanks to a successful strategy with the electric ones.
Times change and it is necessary to adapt to them to continue advancing. The automobile industry has transformed more in the last decade than in the previous five. The arrival of electrification has changed the global outlook, especially in markets as important as Europe or the United States. Each brand has faced the challenge from a different point of view, but it can be said that the Hyundai Group has been able to take advantage of the opportunity to position itself as the third largest manufacturer in the world. Its electric range has a lot to do with this growth.
The Seoul, South Korea-based conglomerate comprises the Hyundai, KIA, and Genesis brands. For several years, the group has been stuck in the sixth position worldwide, but in just one year they have been able to rise to third place, surpassing other large manufacturers such as General Motors, Nissan, and the Stellantis Group with its many companies. Only Volkswagen and Toyota have surpassed them.
The present is very positive for Hyundai, but the future is more attractive. As the company’s co-CEO, Jaehoon Chang, acknowledges: “we are on the right track and this year we have been very strong”.
2022 will go down in history as being one of the most complicated courses. The numerous crises dragged down since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to wreak havoc, mainly in supply chains on a global scale. The great success of the Hyundai Group has been in dodging those problems better than any other manufacturer, except Tesla. Their philosophy of manufacturing most of the components of their cars, from steel to engines, makes them independent of suppliers or problems of lack of supplies. Thus, while many companies have had to paralyze the lines, the Koreans have not been affected.
Throughout this process, they have seen how the electric car has definitively arrived on the world automotive scene. Sales have grown in all market segments and in the most popular there is always a model from the Korean family. Hyundai’s IONIQ range continues to increase in units and sales. The Hyundai IONIQ 5 will close the year with almost 100,000 units sold, a success after its first full course. Next year the Hyundai IONIQ 6 will be added, whose first units sold out in record time: since it went on sale last October, more than 40,000 cars have been registered.
KIA is also registering very positive data with its electric range. The KIA EV6 has sold more than 23,000 units so far this year. Next to it is another international reference model such as the KIA Niro, with its generous electrified offer. This has been the year of its complete renewal and the figures already show the correctness of the change. Looking ahead to 2023, the offer will continue to expand with the launch of the KIA EV9. An SUV almost five meters long and up to seven seats have already begun the countdown to its presentation, throughout the first quarter of the year.
The objectives for next year and the next courses are more than evident. The Koreans know that, sooner rather than later, the industry will recover, the lines will return to operating at normal rates and the large conglomerates will show their productive muscle. However, with revenues 21% higher than last year, the Hyundai Group will continue to bet on its electric strategy as a fundamental part of its growth. A family in which he has already invested more than 15,000 million dollars.
