Korean Hyundai-Kia overtakes Renault

It’s really not going away! New car registrations plunged another 13% in the European Union (+Switzerland, Norway, Great Britain) in May, according to ACEA! It was the weakest May recorded by the European Builders Association since its statistics began in 1990, excluding the pandemic and the 2020 lockdown. With falls of 20.6% in Britain, 15% in Italy, 11% in Spain, -10% in France and Germany. Over five months, these are also the worst results recorded with 4.07 million vehicles sold (-13.5% over one year) – still excluding 2020.

Since the beginning of the year, Stellantis has fallen by more than 22%. This is the group that falls the most among the major manufacturers. Citroën plunged by almost 25%, as did Peugeot and Fiat. The Renault group fell by more than 9%, the progress of Dacia (+14%) not compensating for the plunge of the diamond brand itself (-21.4%). But the great novelty is that, for the first time in a total of five months, Renault has lost… its third place in Europe. The Korean group Hyundai (with its two brands Hyundai and Kia) blithely passes it, progressing by 17%. From now on, it claims 10% of the European market, against only 8.7% for Renault, 19.2% for Stellantis, 24.2% for the Volkswagen group.

Fewer shortages

But how does this Korean, the only major auto group, manage to increase its sales so insolently? Shortage of electronic components? “We have delivery times three times lower than those of the competition on average”, welcomes one at Kia France. The Koreans are “foresighted and order their cars and therefore their components very early”, summarizes Eric Champarnaud, of the French firm C-Ways. In addition, “we produce a lot of parts in-house and, as Asians, have privileged links with Korean suppliers Samsung, LG or SK Innovation, but also with the Chinese”, summarizes Lionel French Keogh, CEO of Hyundai France. .

But this fine management of the crisis does not alone explain the success of the two brands with their plethoric ranges, from city cars to large SUVs. The group is notably the most advanced in electrified vehicles (hybrid, rechargeable and electric), which represent 60% of Hyundai’s sales in France, 50% of those of Kia. At the latter, the first sale in France is squarely the electric SUV Niro, whose autonomy (300 km at 130 km / h) is one of the best on the market!

car of the year

The more upscale zero-emission Kia EV6, voted Car of the Year last March, is one of the models capable of recharging the fastest.you, recovering 80% charge in 18 minutes. Against 25 minutes on Porsche Taycan and Audi e-tron GT, almost twice as expensive, according to the tests of Challenges. As for the next Kia Niro plug-in hybrid, launched this summer, it will be the only one, thanks to the performance of its battery, to benefit from the maximum bonus of 5,000 euros (after the 1^er July 2022) reserved so far for 100% electric! However, doubts have arisen among specialists about holding the load below certain temperatures…

It prevents. Accelerated electrification allows the group to move upmarket and therefore improve its profitability. Kia has thus increased its average selling prices by 5,000 euros in two years (to 31,500), Hyundai by 7,000 euros (to 37,000). Even if not all motorists appreciate the bling-bling lines and the cartoonish profusion of pseudo-safety electronic beeps in cars! Renault nevertheless has something to be afraid of!