Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. combined exports of eco-friendly vehicles exceeded 200,000 for the first time in the first half of this year.
During the January-June period, the two giant carmakers in South Korea sold a combined 224,672 electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles overseas, up 30.6% from a year earlier, according to data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA).
This represented the first time that their eco-friendly car exports exceeded 200,000 in the cited period. It also came after the carmakers saw their green car exports top 100,000 for the first time in the first quarter of this year, according to the South Korean News Agency Yonhap.
Market watchers expect that their green car sales this year could hover around 400,000 if the current trend continues.
Hyundai Motor exported 116,770 green cars during the first half, up 22.1% from a year earlier, while Kia’s overseas sales of green cars also jumped 42.3% over the same period to 107,902 units, the data showed.
Hyundai Motor and Kia have ramped up efforts to produce green cars in line with the global drive toward eco-friendly and emission-zero vehicles.
Last year, they exported a combined 373,007 green cars, exceeding the 300,000 mark for the first time annually, and was up 38.2% from a year earlier.
