Hyundai Motor is world No. 3 EV maker

Hyundai Motor Group’s bet on electric cars seems to have been a good one, as data showed Monday that the group has the third-biggest market share in the segment.

According to IHS Markit, the combined market share of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors in the global electric vehicle (EV) market reached 7 percent by the end of November, coming in third after Palo Alto, California-based Tesla, with 19 percent, and Shenzhen, China’s BYD, with 11 percent.

By the end of November, Hyundai Motor Group sold a total of 129,950 EVs, up 40 percent from the 90,860 units it sold throughout 2018. During the same period, the group sold 22,798 units in Korea and 107,152 in overseas markets.

The companies are actually tied for third place with two other groups. BMW Group and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi (RNM) Alliance also have a 7 percent market share. They each sold more than 500,000 EVs, including pure EVs, hybrids and plug-in hybrid models, though November.

Last year was a big one for Hyundai Motor Group, as it was the first year it entered the top 10 list of global EV makers. In 2017, the automaker group wasn’t even close to getting on that list.

In 2018, Hyundai Motor Group came in 8th place, with a 5 percent market share for global EV sales, behind Tesla, BYD, RNM Alliance, BAIC Group, BMW Group, SAIC Motor and Geely.

Such a dramatic leap into the global EV market may mean that the company’s aggressive bet and large investment in future vehicles paid off.

In early 2018, the group announced it will invest 23 trillion won ($20 billion) in five new industries including EVs, artificial intelligence and robotics to keep up with changing industrial trends and tightening environment regulations around the world.

Since 2017, 12 countries, including France, Britain, Sweden and China, have announced they will ban fossil fuel vehicles from being operated in their countries by 2050 at the latest.

In light of this regulatory reality, Hyundai Motor Group introduced a total of eight electric vehicles in the global market since last year, four from Hyundai Motor and another four from Kia Motors. In China, the automaker group introduced four EV models exclusively for the Chinese market, the Ioniq, Kona, Soul and Niro EVs.

The latest data show that Hyundai Motor Group’s EV sales increased in major markets like the United States and Europe. Its stake in the European EV market reached 13 percent, following after Tesla (18 percent), RNM Alliance (16 percent) and BMW Group (14 percent).

The company says that the next five years are key to deciding its future in the advanced vehicle market, while the industry views 2020 as the tipping point for EVs.

Some countries are pushing for new regulations and limitations on fossil fuel vehicles, forcing global automakers to come up with eco-friendly mobility strategies.

Starting next year, the European Union will take the limit on average carbon dioxide emissions from 130 grams per kilometer to 95 grams for all automakers that operate in the grouping.

Facing the regulatory shift, Volkswagen Group moved up its timeline to produce 1 million EVs from 2025 to 2023. Toyota is seeking to provide EV versions for all of its offerings by 2025, starting with the release of six purely electric cars.

As for Hyundai Motor Group, the goal is to reach 670,000 units in battery and fuel-cell EV sales per year to rank within the top three manufacturers in the sectors globally by 2025.

BY KO JUN-TAE, LEE DONG-HYUN [ko.juntae@joongang.co.kr]