Cox Automotive Analysis: Hyundai Motor’s Q3 2023 U.S. Market Performance

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company, which includes the Hyundai, Kia and Genesis brands, has been having a stellar year for growth.

In 2019, Hyundai Motor ranked No. 7 in total U.S. sales. In the third quarter, it was No. 4, passing Stellantis, Honda and Nissan and lagging No. 3 Ford Motor Co. by only 66,000 units without the benefit of selling a full-size pickup truck.

In the third quarter, Hyundai Motor’s U.S. sales were up, but not as much as the industry, so its share slipped slightly. Kia outsold Hyundai as well as other import competitors. Hyundai Motor spent almost nothing on incentives in the year-ago third quarter, but this year, it tripled incentives compared with a year ago, though they remain lower than before the pandemic. Like the rest of the industry, the growth in Hyundai Motor’s average transaction price slowed.

Here are third-quarter data points from Cox Automotive for Hyundai Motor in the U.S., one of its most important global markets.

Hyundai Motor Brands Have Best-Ever Third Quarter Sales

Hyundai Motor sold 430,302 vehicles in the third quarter, up 12% and breaking the 400,000-unit mark for the first time for any third quarter, according to Cox Automotive calculations. Hyundai Motor surpassed that milestone in the second quarter as well, when it sold 437,826 units.

Hyundai Motor Company U.S. Sales Performance for Q3 2023

Hyundai Motor sold 430,302 vehicles in the third quarter, up 12% and breaking the 400,000-unit mark for the first time for any third quarter, according to Cox Automotive calculations. Hyundai Motor surpassed that milestone in the second quarter as well, when it sold 437,826 units.

The Hyundai and Kia brands both broke the 200,000 mark for the first time in any third quarter. That put them well ahead of the Volkswagen and Subaru brands, both of which had sales below 170,000 units in the quarter.

Hyundai brand had the smallest increase among the automaker’s brands. Its sales were up 9% to 200,534. Hyundai opened October with 56 days of inventory, just below the industry’s 60 days’ supply, according to Cox Automotive’s analysis of vAuto inventory data.

The volume-leading Tucson had a 27% jump in sales to 52,589 units. The Kona had a 44% hike to 18,493. Santa Fe sales jumped 24% to 35,020. Sales of the Santa Cruz pickup edged 5% higher, above 35,000 units. Palisade sales slipped by 4% to 14,910 units. Elantra sales fell 12%, but they remained above 32,000 units.

As for Hyundai’s electric vehicles, the Ioniq 5 had a 143% jump in sales to 11,605 units. The newly launched Ioniq 6 kicked in 5,073 sales.

In the third quarter, Kia surpassed Hyundai brand in sales by nearly 10,000 units. Kia sales rose 14% to 210,341 units. That was despite its constantly low inventory levels. At the start of October, Kia had only 35 days’ supply, well below the 60-day average of the industry. Only Toyota and Honda had less.

By model, Kia’s results were mixed. Gainers were the Telluride, up 13% to 28,697 units, the K5 sedan, up 2% to 18,697 units, and Forte, up 9% to more than 33,000 units. The volume leading Sportage dipped by 5% to 35,695 SUVs. The Sorento slipped 3% to 24,819. The Kia EV 6 had a 30% hike to 6,470 units.

Genesis had the biggest sales gain, up 28% to 19,427 units, its highest sales for any third quarter. Genesis sold about 3,000 more vehicles in the quarter than Nissan’s Infiniti did and is approaching the sales levels of Lincoln.

The GV70, the highest volume model for the brand, got a 40% boost in sales to 6,970 units. The G70 also saw a 40% hike to 4,455 units. The G80 was up 36% to 1,357. The GV80 had the smallest increase, up 8%, but it was still Genesis’ second-best seller.

Hyundai Motor’s Gains Underperformed; Market Share Slips

Despite higher sales, Hyundai Motor underperformed the overall market, which was up 16%. The automaker’s market share slipped to 10.83% from 11.25% in the year-earlier quarter, according to Cox Automotive calculations.

Kia’s market share stood at 5.29% compared with 5.41% a year ago, still its second-highest share in any third quarter.

Hyundai’s market share was 5.05%, compared with 5.39%, but its third highest market share in a third quarter.

Genesis was the only brand to eke out a gain. Its market share stood at .49%, up from .44% a year ago for its highest-ever share for the quarter.

Hyundai Motor Tripled Incentives; Still Lower Than Before the Pandemic

Hyundai Motor more than tripled incentive spending from the year before. But its incentives are still lower than before the pandemic and the computer chip shortage.

In total, Hyundai Motor spent an average of $1,890 per vehicle on third-quarter incentives, according to Cox Automotive calculations. That was a 317% increase from the almost non-existent average incentive of $453 per vehicle in the year-ago third quarter, which was strained by the chip shortage. In this year’s second quarter, Hyundai Motor more than doubled its year-over-year spending per vehicle to $1,330.

Hyundai Motor Company U.S. Incentive Spending for Q3 2023

Despite the huge percentage increases, Hyundai Motor is still spending less on incentives than it had in the third quarters of 2019 to 2020, when incentives were $3,000 or more per average vehicle.

Hyundai brand had the biggest increase, up 472% to an average of $2,198 per vehicle compared to a scant $385 per average vehicle a year earlier and up from $1,402 in the second quarter. Despite the increase, Hyundai’s spend was still lower than the $2,500 to nearly $3,000 spent per average vehicle in the period from 2018 to 2020.

Kia increased incentives by 202% to an average of $2,198 per vehicle compared with a low of $469 per vehicle a year ago when Kia barely had any inventory due to the chip shortage. In the second quarter, Kia spent $1,082 per vehicle, which was up from $618 in the year-earlier second quarter. Kia incentives ranged from $2,200 per vehicle to more than $4,000 per vehicle before 2021.

Genesis had a 253% boost to an average of $3,826 per vehicle, up from $1,085 per vehicle a year ago and $3,454 per vehicle in the second quarter. Genesis is approaching the range of incentives it offered before the pandemic, when the brand was still relatively new to the U.S. market and incentives were routinely above $4,500 a vehicle.

Hyundai Motor ATP Edges 3% Higher to $37,253

Like the rest of the auto industry, Hyundai Motor saw the growth in average transaction prices slow. The automaker’s ATP was up 3% to $37,253, according to Cox Automotive’s calculations. It was the automaker’s highest ATP for the third quarter and was up from $36,513 in the second quarter.

Hyundai Motor Company U.S. Average Transaction Price for Q3 2023

Hyundai brand had the biggest gain, up 5% for an ATP of $36,584, the highest ever for the quarter. By comparison, in 2019, Hyundai’s ATP was $10,000 lower. In the third quarter, most Hyundai models were flat or had slight declines in ATPs. The Palisade had a 2% rise to $51,135. The Ioniq 5 was down 2% to $53,314. The Ioniq 6 was $50,816.

Kia’s ATP was roughly flat at $35,607, but still its second highest for the quarter. The Telluride was one of the few models with a gain. It was up 3% to $50,207. Most of Kia’s major models were flat, including Tucson and Santa Fe. Others had low single-digit declines. The EV6 had an ATP of $55,310

Genesis eked out a 1% gain in ATP to $61,977, its highest ever for the quarter. The G80 had a hefty 16% increase in ATP to nearly $68,000. The GV80 and GV70 were up 7% to $74,187 and $50,211, respectively. The GV70 had a 5% gain to $57,504.

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