Hyundai Motor's eco-friendly SUV Tucson Hybrid North America model was its best-selling model in the U.S. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Company

By Kim Hyun-bin

Hyundai Motor Group overtook Honda for fifth place in sales in the U.S market and is aiming to take over the fourth spot surpassing Stellantis, according to industry officials, Thursday.

Hyundai Motor is closely chasing Stellantis, which ranked fourth in sales, selling 1,553,485 vehicles, or 79,261 more than Hyundai. In the fourth quarter of last year, Hyundai Motor recorded sales of 386,898 vehicles, helping to narrow the gap with Stellantis, which sold 349,542 during the same period.

Its market share is also on the rise. According to Cox Automotive, a market research firm specializing in cars, Hyundai Motor's share in the U.S. market was 10.6 percent, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous year. In terms of market share, GM stood at 16.3 percent ranking first followed by Toyota (15.3 percent), Ford (13.3 percent) and Stellantis (11.1 percent).

In terms of sales alone, Hyundai Motor also saw a 1 percent decrease last year compared to the previous year. However, the entire U.S. finished car market was stagnant, and Hyundai Motor was backed by strong sales of its new releases including its luxury Genesis models help to maintain its market share.

Genesis saw 6,172 sales last month, an increase of 23.5 percent compared to the same period the year before.

Hyundai Motor edged out Honda and secured fourth place by selling 1.47 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, the second-highest ever. This is significant as the company achieved the result amid disruptions in the supply of automotive semiconductors. Its annual sales gap with Honda widened to around 500,000 last year.

According to the Korean automotive group, last year, Hyundai Motor Company sold 724,265 vehicles, down 1.9 percent from the previous year, while Genesis sold 56,410 vehicles, up 13.7 percent, and Kia sold 693,549, down 1.1 percent. Their combined total sales in the U.S. market were 1,474,224 vehicles.

As a result, the gap with sixth-place Honda widened significantly to 490,717 vehicles sold. In 2021, when Honda sold 1,466,630 vehicles, its gap with Hyundai Motor was only 22,448 cars. However, Honda's annual sales last year dropped below 1 million to 983,507, a decrease of 32.9 percent compared to the previous year.

Despite the accomplishment, Hyundai Motor is expected to face difficulties this year in order to increase its market share further.

"Hyundai Motor and Kia Corp. made good progress last year based on their marketability in the U.S., but this year a slowdown seems likely as there are many hurdles to overcome, such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). It is expected that the company will strive to maintain its market share based on various electrification strategies, such as the recent completion of an EV production plant in the U.S.," an industry official familiar with the matter said.