Accordingly, from January to September this year, the famous car manufacturer Kia dominated the top 3 positions in sales in Korea with its SUV models. Specifically, in turn: Sorento with 67,314 cars sold, Carnival minivan with 62,352 cars and Sportage SUV with 56,063 cars.
Meanwhile, Hyundai's SantaFe SUV ranked fourth with 56,042 units, followed by the Porter pickup truck and Hyundai's flagship Grandeur sedan, known as the Azera overseas, with sales of 53,365 units and 51,964 units, respectively.
Experts in the Korean auto industry said that Kia's strong performance during this period was due to consumers increasingly preferring SUVs over sedans. On the other hand, customer demand for hybrid cars increased as the adoption of electric vehicles temporarily slowed down.
Kia's Sorento, Carnival and Sportage models now all have hybrid versions, best serving customers looking for a more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly option.