Palisade Nears 300,000 Units as Hybrid Model Accelerates Sales

[Financial News] Hyundai Motor Company's large sport utility vehicle (SUV), the all-new Palisade, is expected to surpass 300,000 units in cumulative sales as early as this month. The hybrid powertrain newly introduced in the second-generation model accounts for more than half of global sales and is driving the expansion. As demand for hybrids grows in the United States following strong domestic demand, the model is building sales faster than the first-generation version.
According to Hyundai Motor Company on the 27th, the second-generation Hyundai Palisade sold a cumulative 281,920 units over approximately 20 months from its launch in January last year through last month. Given that average monthly sales this year have been around 15,000 units, the model is expected to reach 300,000 units as early as this month or, at the latest, next month.
The first-generation Palisade, launched in December 2018, took about two years and four months to achieve the same sales figure. The second-generation model is therefore reaching the milestone roughly seven to eight months faster. Analysts say the fully redesigned model, introduced six years after the first generation, is using its hybrid variant to capture demand for large SUVs.
Of the 24,024 second-generation Hyundai Palisade units sold in South Korea from January through August this year, 17,332 were hybrids, accounting for 72.1%. In other words, more than seven out of every 10 units sold domestically were hybrids. That figure was approximately 2.6 times the 6,692 gasoline models sold.
Hybrid sales also surpassed gasoline sales overseas. Of the 96,782 units sold overseas during the same period, 52,193 were hybrids, giving them a 53.9% share. Hybrids accounted for 57.6% of combined domestic and overseas sales.
In the United States, its main market, the growth rate of hybrid sales outpaced that of total Palisade sales. Monthly U.S. hybrid sales rose 90.3%, from 2,745 units in January to 5,225 units in August. Over the same period, total monthly Palisade sales increased 47.9%, from 8,604 to 12,729 units.
A total of 88,355 Hyundai Palisade units were sold in the United States from January through August this year. Hybrids accounted for 30,620 of those units, or 34.7%. Although the hybrid share is lower than in South Korea, rapidly rising monthly sales are making hybrids a key driver of growth in the U.S. market as well.
Combined global cumulative sales of the first- and second-generation Palisade models reached 1,240,200 units through last month. Sales have continued to grow since the model surpassed 1 million units in May last year, about six years and five months after its launch.
The model has also received a series of positive evaluations in the North American market. Earlier this year, it was selected as a finalist in the Utility Vehicle category of the 2026 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year Awards (NACTOY). It was subsequently named the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year at the 2026 Canadian International AutoShow.
A Hyundai Motor Company official said, "The second-generation Palisade is winning over customers with its hybrid technology, premium design and enhanced product competitiveness." The official added, "We will continue to strengthen our leading position in the global large SUV market based on outstanding product competitiveness."
[email protected] Kim Dong-ho Reporter