"Seltos Wall is High"... 1 Year Since Launch, 2nd Generation Kona Ranks 2nd Among Compact SUVs

33,000 units sold last year... Seltos exceeds 50,000 units
Electric car popularity fades... Almost no sales since first month of release

On the 18th, Hyundai Motor Company's compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) 'The All-New Kona' was unveiled at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Hyundai's second-generation (SX2) Kona, a compact sport utility vehicle (SUV), has marked its first anniversary since launch but still struggles to surpass the dominance of Kia's Seltos.

According to Kaizyu Data Research Institute on the 28th, last year Hyundai Kona 2nd generation recorded total sales of 33,475 units (based on new registrations). It ranked second in the compact SUV segment, surpassing the Kia Niro (SG2), which sold 20,391 units. Starting with 225 units sold in its launch month of January last year, it averaged 2,790 units sold per month.

However, it fell short of overtaking the Kia Seltos, regarded as the king of compact SUVs. The Kia New Seltos sold 51,259 units last year, nearly 20,000 more than the Kona. It outsold the Kona in almost every month. In June last year, the sales gap nearly doubled.

Critics point to the sluggish performance of the Kona electric vehicle (EV), launched in May last year, as a painful factor. At that time, Kona sales plummeted to 2,349 units, about half of the previous month. The EV accounted for only 7.4% (2,471 units) of total Kona sales last year. This means the EV model has barely sold since its initial release. The global weakness in EVs is also reflected in the domestic compact SUV sales.

On the other hand, the hybrid model continued to enjoy popularity. When the hybrid was launched in March last year, Kona sales reached 4,994 units, marking the highest monthly figure. It even surpassed the Seltos sales of 4,631 units that same month. The hybrid model accounted for 32.1% of total Kona sales last year.

Meanwhile, among new car registration customers for the second-generation Kona, those in their 50s made up the largest share at 28.1%. Those in their 60s ranked second with 19.4%. Nearly half of the total sales were chosen by customers in their 50s and 60s. This was followed by those in their 30s (18.5%), 40s (15.9%), and 20s (13.0%).

There is a forecast that it may be difficult to narrow the gap with the Seltos in the near future. The Seltos sells only gasoline models but still exceeds 50,000 units annually. An industry insider said, "Since preference for gasoline models remains strong compared to EVs and hybrids, it may be difficult for Kona's sales to grow noticeably for the time being."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.