Hyundai, Kia see sales top 90m cars

South Korea’s top automaker Hyundai Motor and its sister affiliate Kia Motors have sold a combined 90 million cars since their beginnings 50 years ago, industry data showed Sunday.

As of last year, the two sold a cumulative 89.9 million vehicles domestically and internationally, including cars made overseas, according to the data.

That translates into about 167,000 cars sold every week on average. It also means the two firms most likely reached the 90 million milestone within this past week, according to industry watchers.

Kia Motors sold its first vehicle, the three-wheeler K-360 assembled at a factory west of Seoul, in 1962. The first vehicle sold by Hyundai Motor is the Ford Cortina, manufactured at a factory in Ulsan, 410 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in 1968. They sold 67 and 533 of each during those years, respectively.

In addition, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors are expected to break the 100 million mark within the first three months of next year, considering their combined yearly sales have now surpassed 8 million.

“Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors together are the fifth ever to reach yearly sales of 8 million globally,” a company source said.

“Of the 90 million presumably sold since our beginning, 70 percent came from domestic sales, meaning our contribution to the domestic economy has been significant.”

Individually, Hyundai Motor has sold a cumulative 57.9 million cars, with shipments of Kia Motors reaching 3.20 million cars.

The two got off to a slow start, though, having taken more than 30 years to break the 10 million mark in 1993. But they only took six years since to sell another 10 million. (Yonhap)