This photo taken on April 18, 2023, and provided by Hyundai Motor shows the Mufasa compact SUV at the 2023 Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition held at Shanghai Convention Center.
SEOUL, April 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Motor Co. and its smaller affiliate Kia Corp. said Tuesday they aim to revive lackluster sales in China by launching new models in the world’s biggest automobile market this year.
The two South Korean carmakers still suffer weak sales in China due to the lingering impact of a diplomatic dispute between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system called THAAD in South Korea in 2017.
Their combined vehicle sales plunged to 339,003 units in 2022 from 1.79 million in 2016. The corresponding figure fell 36 percent on-year to 1.15 million in 2017.
To boost sales, Hyundai and Kia have reorganized their Chinese operations since 2019 and readjusted production in their local plants. They introduced some localized models but it did not help drive up sales in the neighboring market.
In their latest efforts, Hyundai and Kia showcased some new models at the 2023 Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition scheduled from April 18-27.
Hyundai introduced the localized compact SUV Mufasa ahead of its launch in China in June and the high-performance Elantra N compact ahead of its launch in the second half.
The Mufasa comes with a 2-liter gasoline engine and some safety features, such as the front collision avoidance assist-junction turning (FCA-JT), blind-spot collision-avoidance assist, and highway driving assist systems.
Hyundai also plans to launch the IONIQ 5 N, the first electrified model under Hyundai’s high-performance N brand, in China next year after its global debut in July this year.
This file photo provided by Kia Corp. shows the EV9 GT-line model.
Kia also outlined its plans to make a presence in the Chinese EV market by launching the EV5 and EV6 SUVs this year and the EV9 flagship SUV next year.
All the three models are built on Hyundai Motor Group’s dedicated EV platform called E-GMP.
Kia said it will launch a total of six EVs in China by 2027 as it sees the neighboring market as an important market for the company’s global strategy and future growth.
Hyundai and Kia are targeting to sell a combined 3.64 million all-electric vehicles in global markets in 2030. In this year’s CEO Investor Day held early this month, Kia said it aims to sell 1.6 million EVs in 2030.
They have set a combined sales goal of 7.52 million units this year, up 9.8 percent from the 6.85 million units they sold last year.
The two together form the world’s third-largest carmaker by sales after Toyota Motor Corp. and Volkswagen Group.
(Yonhap)
