EV registrations cool for some brands that were hot last year
Another hot EV brand last year, Kia, saw its fortunes flag in the first five months of this year. New registrations of its EV6 compact crossover dropped 29 percent to 6,780. Its smaller EV crossover, the Niro, saw registrations fall 27 percent to 4,425, Experian said.
For full-year 2022, Kia posted a 236 percent rise in EV registrations to 23,506. Kia’s EV share fell to 2.5 percent this year from 5.8 percent last year, based on five-month Experian data.
Like its Korean corporate sibling Hyundai, Kia lost access to the $7,500 federal tax incentive last year with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which requires North American assembly. Kia and Hyundai EVs are made in Korea.
Hyundai’s EV performance was better than Kia’s in the first five months of the year, according to Experian data. The Ioniq 5 compact crossover fell 3.4 percent to 10,406 while the smaller Kona EV crossover grew 190 percent to 3,943. The Ioniq 6 midsize sedan, new this year, had 1,824.
As a whole, Hyundai brand EV registrations grew 33 percent in the five-month period to 16,175. For full-year 2022, they grew 142 percent to 26,826. Hyundai’s EV share fell to 3.6 percent in the first five months this year compared with 4.6 percent for the same period in 2022.
Hyundai has been more aggressive than Kia in offering customers lease deals that incorporate a $7,500 federal EV discount. Under the tax rules, auto finance companies can claim the EV credit and pass it on to customers if they choose. Kia said in May it will lean more aggressively into EV leasing.
