The specter of Asian competition has regularly plagued the European automotive industry. Today, Japanese firms are experiencing mixed fortunes and the ambitions displayed by Chinese brands – whose sales are still embryonic – are a scarecrow. However, if we consider the reality of the market, it is the South Korean manufacturers who appear to be the most formidable competitors.
These last two years, marked by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the difficulties in supplying semiconductors, have seen the market shares of Hyundai and Kia, the two brands of the conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group, soar. , which announced, at the end of July, a quarterly result of 2 billion euros, up 59%. While car sales in the European Union fell by 14% in the first half, those of the Korean duo are the only ones to experience a positive trend. The two brands, which are neck and neck, represent 9.6% of total European registrations, a gain of three points compared to 2019. During the same period, Hyundai went from 1.8% to 3.1% of the French market and Kia from 2% to 3%.
This forward march is not new, but it has accelerated. The group, half of whose sales in Europe come from its factories in the Czech Republic and Turkey, remains highly integrated and close to its network of Korean suppliers. This allowed it, at least initially, not to undergo manufacturing constraints as severe as most of its competitors. During the second quarter, the factories of Hyundai Motor Group returned to overtime, underlines the group. “At the same time, we have given priority to supplying the European market, which we know is the most profitable”, says Lionel French Keogh, President of Hyundai France.
The progress of the two brands is also due to their ability to feed market developments, in particular the forced march towards electrification, thanks to which they have forged technological credibility. Only (with Porche) to offer an architecture in 800 volts, some of the latest electric Hyundai and Kia can accumulate on a high-powered motorway terminal the equivalent of 130 kilometers of autonomy in just seven minutes. “51% of our sales are hybrid or all-electric and this commitment is not new,” insists Marc Hedrich, president of Kia France, who recalls that the launch of the electric Soul dates back to 2014.
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