Kia to sweep top three spots in Korea’s car sales on SUV, hybrid boom

Kia Corp., South Korea’s second-largest automaker, is poised to claim the top three spots on the country’s best-selling car list this year thanks to the growing popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and hybrid models.

Kia’s midsize SUV Sorento topped the list with domestic sales of 67,314 units in the first nine months of the year, followed by its minivan Carnival with 62,352 units and its compact SUV Sportage with 56,063 units, according to data from five carmakers in the country on Monday. All the models have hybrid trims.

The Sorento is likely to become the first SUV of the country and Kia, which tops the domestic best-selling car list, as SUVs and hybrid cars kept growing more popular amid the prolonged slowdown in electric vehicle sales, industry sources said.

“The increasing preference for SUVs and hybrid models raised interest in Kia’s cars, which meet customer needs,” said one of the sources.

HYUNDAI SANTA FE, PORTER, GRANDEUR FOLLOW

Kia’s outperformance was seen as unusual as its affiliate Hyundai Motor Co. had claimed the top three spots since 2000 with its popular sedans including the flagship Grandeur, the midsize Sonata and the compact Avante. The Grandeur and the Avante are sold as the Azera and the Elantra, respectively, in overseas markets.

Hyundai, South Korea’s No. 1 automaker, placed three models at No. 4 - No. 6 on the domestic best-selling list for January-September 2024.

The Santa Fe midsize SUV ranked fourth with sales of 56,042 units, while the Porter cargo truck came in fifth with 53,365 units. The company sold 51,964 units of the Grandeur.

The Sportage was expected to stay ahead of the Santa Fe for the rest of this year as Kia plans to unveil a facelift of the compact SUV in the fourth quarter, industry sources said.

Write to Jin-Won Kim at jin1@hankyung.com
 
Jongwoo Cheon edited this article.