Automotive
I'll have mine in blue, please...
Hyundai Ioniq Electric pulls the market up
EV sales are on fire in South Korea, with 2016 sales up 158% YoY regarding 2015 and December setting a new absolute sales month, with 1.500 units, while the EV Share ended the year at a record 0.38%, a significant departure from the 0.17% of the previous year.
This surge has much all to do with the instant success of the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, which surprised the brand itself, that expected the BEV version to be the slowest selling version of the three (HEV, PHEV and BEV). Turns out, the electric version is outselling the hybrid in a ratio of 3 to 1...
Making Hyundai's victory all more impressive, we should notice that the 3.700 units, or 61% of the total market, only started to be delivered in June...Will we see it reach some 8.000 units in 2017?
Looking elsewhere, the Kia Soul EV ended the year in Second, ahead of the Renault Fluence ZE Samsung SM3 ZE (Down 40% YoY, one of the Ioniq victims?).
The #4 BMW i3 was the best selling foreign model, with 369 units, two units above the 2015 result, while the #5 Hyundai Sonata Plug-in was the Best Selling PHEV, with 113 units.
In its first venture outside North America, the Chevrolet Volt is not replicating the success of its primary markets, with only 40 units being registered, it less than the BMW i3 sold in December alone...
Tesla has arrived to this market, it will be interesting how the American brand fares here, will it beat BMW as the best selling foreign manufacturer?
The Best Selling Manufacturer was Hyundai, with a whopping 63%, winning its first trophy and succeeding the three times winner (2012, '14 & '15) Kia, Second Placed this year, with 14% share, while the 2013 winner Samsung ended in Third, with 10% share.
PHEV's are a niche segment within plug-ins, with only 5% share, but last year their sales were even more residual (1%).
| Pl | South Korea | Dec. | 2016 | % | Pl '15 |
| 1 | Hyundai Ioniq Electric e) | 1.165 | 3.731 | 61 | N/A |
| 2 | Kia Soul EV e) | 100 | 795 | 13 | 2 |
| 3 4 5 6 | Samsung SM3 ZE BMW i3 Hyundai Sonata Plug-In e) Chevrolet Spark EV | 90 102 5 | 623 369 113 99 | 10 6 2 2 | 1 3 N/A 6 |
| 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 | Nissan Leaf e) Kia Ray EV BMW i8 Audi A3 e-Tron e) Chevrolet Volt Renault Twizy Porsche Cayenne Plug-In Tesla Model X Tesla Model S | 5 5 5 3 14 4 2 | 88 77 70 45 40 31 19 4 3 | 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 | 5 4 7 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A |
| TOTAL | 1.500 | 6.107 | 100 |
