- First Korean car brand to make it in to the top ten best-selling manufacturers in the UK – 11 place improvement since 2008
- Best ever sales in 2012 – 74,285 units – up 18.1% on previous best in 2011
- Best ever market share – 3.63%
- Fastest-growing manufacturer in the Fleet sector with 40% increase versus 2011
- UK sales contribute to nearly 17% of all Hyundai sales in Europe – making it the second biggest market
- 2013 will see a stabilisation of sales and investment in the Brand
High Wycombe, 8 January 2013 – Hyundai starts the New Year as one of the top ten best-selling manufacturers in the UK – the first time for any Korean car brand – after recording best-ever sales of 74,285 vehicles. Hyundai UK outperformed the car market by more than three times increasing sales over 2011 by 18.1% and it secured a record market share of 3.63%. It also became the fastest-growing manufacturer in the Fleet sector with an impressive 40% increase in fleet sales versus 2011.
Tony Whitehorn, President and CEO, Hyundai UK commented: “Despite challenging economic and social conditions, Hyundai has had an exceptional year. The investment in desirable new products which offer more than just good value has been integral to consumers reappraising the Hyundai brand. Since 2008, Hyundai has more than 250,000 more cars on the road and has seen sales nearly triple in just four years. We have risen from 21st in the UK car market to breaking through at number 10 – that is a tremendous achievement, and a testament to the hard work of our employees and the Dealer Network.”
The best-selling model of 2012 was the award-winning i10 with over 23,000 units sold, up 13.5% versus 2011. It was the second best-selling car in the A-segment – outselling the likes of the Ford Ka and VW Up – with a segment share of 12.5%.
Carbuyer.co.uk’s Car of the Year – the i30 – sold more than 12,000 units, competing well against other established C-segment vehicles – the VW Golf, Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra. The New Generation i30 has also recently been shortlisted for the 2013 European Car of the Year award.
The i20 is Hyundai’s third best-seller with sales of over 11,000 vehicles. Following closely behind also with over 11,000 units sold, the ix35 – currently the oldest product in the Hyundai range – saw an astonishing increase of 58% versus 2011 and a segment share of nearly 5%.
In their first full year of sale, the i40 notched up sales of over 5,700 and Veloster nearly 1,700.
“The investment in new product has undoubtedly driven the incredible sales success that we have seen over the last few years. However, we will start to see sales stabilizing in 2013 as we evolve our focus. We have invested in product, now we will invest in the brand and the customer experience. We have the building blocks in place and now it’s time to create an environment for healthy and sustainable growth in the future.”
Hyundai UK sales have contributed to nearly 17% of all Hyundai sales in Europe.
Hyundai in Europe has also continued its growth with a best-ever year, selling 444,000 units which is up 10.2% on last year and a market share of 3.4%. Sales for Hyundai globally rose 8.6% to 4.4 million.
89% of all Hyundai vehicles sold in Europe are built outside of Korea, with 70% manufactured at the Company’s European plants in Nosovice, Czech Republic and Izmit in Turkey.
