Hyundai Motor Almost Doubled Plug-In Car Sales In January 2023

All-electric car sales increased by nearly 162 percent year-over-year.

Hyundai Ioniq 6 in Norway

Mark Kane

By: Mark Kane

Feb 24, 2023 at 8:32am ET

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Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai and Genesis brands) reports that its global vehicle sales in January amounted to 306,296 units, which is 8.4 percent more than a year ago.

Plug-in electric car sales increased much faster. Last month, the combined wholesale shipments (closely related to production) of Hyundai and Genesis plug-in cars amounted to *20,718 (up 87 percent year-over-year). We estimate that it's nearly 7 percent of the total volume.

*Retail sales in South Korea plus wholesale sales (manufacturer level) outside South Korea, unaudited and on a preliminary basis.

**The Hyundai sales report includes sales numbers from the plants in South Korea, Europe (Kona Electric and Tucson PHEV), Indonesia (Ioniq 5), and plants in China and India (both small numbers).

Even more interesting is the growth of all-electric car sales amounted to almost 162 percent year-over-year (18,106 units) or almost 6 percent of the total volume.

Plug-in hybrid car sales decreased year-over-year and remain only a small fraction of the business, while hydrogen fuel cell cars remain a niche.

Wholesale shipments volume by powertrain type:

BEVs: 18,106 (up 162%)
PHEVs: 2,612 (down 37%)
Total plug-ins: 20,718 (up 87%)
FCVs: 404 (up 10%)

For reference, in 2022 Hyundai Motor Company sold more than 240,000 plug-in electric cars (up 45 percent year-over-year), including nearly 195,000 all-electric (up 56 percent).

Wholesale shipments volume by powertrain type in 2022:

BEVs: 194,835 (up 56%) and 5.0% share
PHEVs: 45,510 (up 11%) and 1.2% share
Total plug-ins: 240,345 (up 45%) and 6.1% share
FCVs: 10,527 (up 9.4%) and 0.3% share

Hyundai brand

The Hyundai brand, which is responsible for the majority of the company's plug-in car sales, noted a very strong January.

The wholesale shipments increased by 82 percent year-over-year to 16,836, including 16,836 all-electric cars.

The company explains that Hyundai sales of all-electric cars (customer deliveries, as we understand) amounted to nearly 14,000 in January, including over 9,000 Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6. The difference between wholesale shipments and sales, suggests that the following month (February) should be even better.

Hyundai wholesale shipments volume by powertrain type:

BEVs: 16,836 (up 158%)
PHEVs: 2,612 (down 37%)
Total plug-ins: 19,448 (up 82%)
FCVs: 404 (up 10%)

Hyundai plug-in electric car sales – January 2023

For reference, in 2022, Hyundai's plug-in electric car wholesale shipments amounted to over 221,000, including over 175,000 all-electric cars.

Wholesale shipments volume by powertrain type YTD:

BEVs: 175,989 (up 44%)
PHEVs: 45,510 (up 11%)
Total plug-ins: 221,499 (up 36%)
FCVs: 10,527 (up 9.4%)

Model results

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 remains the top model in Hyundai's EV lineup. In January, the total volume amounted to 7,307 (up 248 percent year-over-year), despite that sales in South Korea were low (just like a year ago).

The all-new Hyundai Ioniq 6 noted 3,841 units, compared to 3,905 in November and 4,560 in December.

In 2023, the lineup will be joined by the Ioniq 5 N - "the company’s first high-performance EV, with details to be unveiled in the coming months."

Top models (wholesale shipments) last month:

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The hydrogen fuel cell model — Hyundai NEXO — noted 404 units in January.

Genesis brand

In the case of Genesis, the brand's wholesale shipments of all-electric cars (GV60, GV70 EV, and G80 EV) amounted to 1,270 (up 221 percent year-over-year), including 973 GV60.