Hyundai, Kia U.S. sales rose 19 percent in 2021

Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia said Wednesday their combined sales in the United States spiked 19 percent in 2021 from a year earlier despite the prolonged pandemic and chip shortages.

The corporate duo sold a total of 1.44 million vehicles in the world's most important automobile market last year from 1.21 million units a year ago, according to the companies' sales data.

Hyundai's U.S. sales climbed 19 percent to 738,081 units from 622,269 over the cited period and Kia's also jumped 20 percent to 701,416 from 586,105.

"Announcing the best-ever annual sales is always a moment of pride, but for Kia to reach such heights in light of the ongoing pandemic and supply chain issues, clearly illustrates the strength of our product lineup and the demand we have created for the Kia brand throughout 2021," Eric Watson, vice president in charge of sales at Kia America, said in a statement.

Kia plans to launch the all-electric EV6 sedan and the all-new Sportage SUV in the first half of this year to boost sales, it said.

Hyundai said it will focus on promoting the pure electric Ioniq 5 and SUV models in the U.S. market this year.

In December, however, their sales fell 17 percent to 99,846 autos from 120,042 units a year earlier due to the pandemic and chip supply issues.

U.S. sales figures for Hyundai's independent Genesis brand were not immediately available.

This year, Hyundai and Kia aim to sell a combined 7.47 million vehicles in global markets, up 12 percent from their sales of 6.67 million units last year.

Yonhap