Hyundai, Kia's Sept. sales fall 1.7 pct in September amid model shortage

SEOUL, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- Combined vehicle sales by South Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. fell 1.7 percent in Europe last month from a year earlier, amid a lack of new models, industry data showed Thursday.

Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 96,258 vehicles in the common market in September, down from 97,907 in the same one-month period in 2025, according to data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).

"The lack of new models, particularly electric vehicles, in Hyundai Motor's lineup affected its sales performance for the month," a company spokesperson said by phone.

Hyundai Motor's sales fell 17.5 percent to 39,821 units from 48,253 a year earlier, while Kia's sales rose 13.7 percent to 56,437 units from 49,654.

As emissions regulations in Europe become increasingly stringent, the two automakers are focusing on expanding sales of environmentally friendly vehicles, including the gasoline hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of Hyundai's Tucson, its all-electric Kona, and Kia's pure electric EV3 and Niro plug-in hybrid.

Last month, Hyundai and Kia together accounted for 7.1 percent of the European vehicle market, where overall sales rose 10.2 percent from a year earlier to 1,363,210 units. Their combined market share fell 0.9 percentage point from a year earlier.

From January to September, the two automakers' combined sales declined 3.4 percent to 770,795 units from 797,919 a year earlier, while their combined market share slipped 0.7 percentage point to 7.3 percent.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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