Hyundai and Kia expect car sales to grow by 11.5% in 2021
South Korean Hyundai Motor Co and its subsidiary Kia Motors Corp said on Monday that their cumulative global vehicle sales will grow 11.5% in 2021 after falling for two consecutive years.
The companies' target of 7.08 million vehicles comes after the coronavirus pandemic plunged sales last year by 12% to a ten-year low of 6.35 million vehicles. This result is also more than 20% lower than the peak reached in 2015.
Although Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have never met their own sales forecasts over the past six years, analysts have called the target for this year realistic.
Hyundai Motor shares climbed 8% on Monday amid investor hopes for strong EV sales this year.
After closing on Monday, Hyundai said a worker had died in an accident at a South Korean plant. The plant has just been refitted to produce the new Ioniq 5 electric vehicle, which should be the first Hyundai model to use the new EV-only platform.