Hyundai and Kia plan to increase sales by 3.2% in 2026

Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Corp aim to increase combined global vehicle sales by 3.2% to 7.51 million units in 2026, after the companies missed their 2025 targets. About this reports Reuters.

The automakers, which together rank third in the world in terms of sales, sold a total of 7.27 million vehicles in 2025, up 0.6% from a year earlier. The growth was driven by sales of hybrids in the United States, which offset weaker demand for electric vehicles after government subsidies ended last September.

Hyundai Motor, which receives about 40% of its revenue from the American market, has benefited the most from the growing demand for hybrid models.

This year, Hyundai Motor announced its intention to increase profitability by launching new electrified models and expanding modern production facilities.

In particular, the company plans to expand a specialized electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Ulsan, as well as a facility in Pune, India, responding to changing demand in different regions.

Hyundai's sales target for 2026 is set at 4.16 million vehicles. This is slightly lower than the 2025 plan of 4.17 million, but higher than the actual sales volume for 2025, which was 4.14 million units.

Korea Investment & Securities analyst Kim Chan-ho said that Hyundai Motor's sales target for this year reflects expectations of a challenging business environment.

At the same time, Kia, he said, has better growth prospects because the updated Telluride will be produced and sold directly in the US, which will allow it to avoid American automobile tariffs.

• On December 29, it became known that Hyundai does not yet plan to buy back its car factory in Russia and return to the Russian market, since the Russian war against Ukraine has not ended.