Hyundai Motor Group has seen its accumulated sales of eco-friendly hybrid cars surpass the 100,000 mark recently, a milestone that comes just three years after their launch.
According to industry sources on Tuesday, Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors sold 106,450 hybrid vehicles both in the domestic and foreign markets as of November since July 2009.
This year alone, their hybrid car sales reached 56,203 units, a 69.1 percent jump from the same period last year.
The two carmakers have introduced hybrid versions of their flagship vehicles ranging from the Avante compact to the midsize Sonata and K5 sedans.
The best-selling model is the Sonata Hybrid which sold 55,624 units ― 21,760 in Korea and 33,864 abroad ― to make up more than half of Hyundai’s total hybrid sales over the past three years.
More impressive is their performance in the overseas market, centering on North America, where the hybrid exports surged from 21,000 vehicles last year to 30,000 this year up to November.
Hyundai is a late-comer in the eco-friendly car market and still lags far behind its Japanese rival Toyota Motor, the global top player that sells more than 1 million hybrid vehicles every year.
Company officials say the Korean auto giant will further step up efforts in developing hybrid, electric and other low-emission cars, according to company officials.
Kia, which launched its first electric car Ray late last year, is preparing to introduce an electric compact in the first half of 2014, while Hyundai is aiming for a new launch in the latter half of 2015.
They also plan to commercialize cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells by 2015.
In the meantime, the combined global market share of Hyundai and Kia hit a record monthly high of 10.1 percent in November due to robust sales in China. The carmakers sold 678,522 vehicles last month, up 9.5 percent from a year ago.
