Hyundai sales are holding up well in established markets but the South Korean carmaker has seemingly hit roadblocks in China and India.
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The two burgeoning markets are currently the most important in the world and Hyundai saw its monthly sales in China shrink by 11.5% to 47,862 units in July and they have now been on a continuous downfall – down from 61,638 in March to 57,014 in April, 56,006 in May, and 54,083 in June.
Sister brand Kia also reported a drop in sales in China, down by 3,000 last month to 22,010. This was its worst performance in 11 months.
The brands attributed the fall to the overall deterioration in the sales environment. July sales were 946,200 – down 9.27% on June – while the year on year sales growth rate was the lowest in 16 months.
Hyundai and Kia also fall in the middle of the polarised market, sandwiched between European premium brands like Mercedes Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, Audi and low-priced Chinese manufacturers – and the market in the country is expected to contract rapidly in the second half as government sales incentives run out.
India, where Hyundai has a car making export hub and is number two in the market behind Maruti Suzuki – albeit a long way behind – is also a concern. Last month, sales were 28,811 units but market share dropped below 20% for the second time since last May.
Competition in the Indian market is also getting fiercer. Maruti recorded 76,111 sales in July, retaining more than 50% market share. Tata achieved 10% share while Ford increased its share from 1.9% last year to 5.7%, soaring from sixth place to fourth.
However, both Hyundai and Kia are doing well in the US market, with year on year growth of 18.8% and 20.7%, respectively. In Canada, they took 11.5% share, ranking fourth after Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler.
Kia has been the number one seller of imported cars in Russia for three consecutive months and both brands’ market share in Europe stayed near last year’s average of 4.1%.
