Hyundai Motor Group Outpaces Ford in the United States for Second Straight Month, Reaches Record-High August Market Share

[Financial News] Hyundai Motor Group held on to third place in monthly market share in the United States for the second consecutive month, surpassing Ford on the strength of hybrid vehicles. Last month, it set a new record for its highest-ever market share.
According to industry sources and market research firm Omdia on the 30th, Hyundai Motor and Kia ranked third in the U.S. market in both July and August. After remaining in fourth place through the first half of the year, Hyundai Motor and Kia sold 165,284 vehicles in July, up 5.0% from the same month a year earlier, giving them a 12.1% market share and third place. GM and Toyota held on to first and second place with shares of 16.7% and 15.9%, respectively, while Ford fell to fourth place with 12.0%.
The gap widened further in August. While total new-vehicle sales in the United States fell 5.8%, Hyundai Motor and Kia's sales declined just 0.6% to 178,405 vehicles, lifting their market share to 12.9%. The sales gap with Ford grew from 1,751 vehicles, or 0.1 percentage points, in July to 14,042 vehicles, or 1.0 percentage point, in August. The 12.9% figure also marked Hyundai Motor and Kia's highest-ever monthly market share, surpassing the previous record of 12.2% set in August last year.
The gap is also narrowing on a cumulative basis. From January through August, Hyundai Motor and Kia sold 1,264,072 vehicles, securing an 11.8% market share, while Ford recorded 1,299,420 vehicles and a 12.2% share. The gap between the two companies narrowed to 0.4 percentage points. It decreased by 0.1 percentage points each month, from 0.6 percentage points in the first half to 0.5 percentage points from January through July and 0.4 percentage points from January through August. After recording a record-high annual market share of 11.3% last year, Hyundai Motor and Kia are now expected to have a shot at reaching the 12% range this year.
Looking at third-quarter figures, the positions have already been reversed. Hyundai Motor and Kia sold 343,689 vehicles in July and August, more than 15,000 above Ford's 327,896. CNBC and Bloomberg recently cited an analysis by market research firm Cox Automotive estimating that Hyundai Motor Group's U.S. sales in the third quarter would reach 511,421 vehicles, surpassing Ford's 504,172.
Strong hybrid-vehicle sales were behind this performance. Analysts say local demand shifted toward hybrids after electric-vehicle tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) expired last year and fuel prices rose. In fact, U.S. hybrid-vehicle sales from January through August reached 1,660,358, up 20.7% from a year earlier and the only increase among the major powertrain types. During the same period, sales of internal-combustion vehicles fell 2.9% to 8,243,564, while electric-vehicle sales plunged 26.8% to 648,350.
Hyundai Motor and Kia also recorded their highest-ever monthly hybrid-vehicle sales last month, at 50,057 units. Hyundai Motor sold 25,109 units, up 33%, while Kia sold 24,948 units, up 65.7%.
[email protected] Kim Dong-chan Reporter