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29 March 2024

Hyundai ME sales up 3%

The Hyundai Motor logo is seen on a car displayed at a dealership in Seoul. (REUTERS)

Published
By Staff

Hyundai Motor Company has announced its third consecutive year of record sales in the Middle East region following the reporting of 2014 figures.

The car manufacturer said it sold 339,813 units across the region in 2014, representing an increase of 3 per cent when compared with 2013. The Korean brand said in a media statement that it has broken the 300,000-sales barrier each year since 2012.

Hyundai said its biggest market in the Middle East remains Saudi Arabia, where it sold 147,647 units, an increase of 3 per cent. Both Jordan and Lebanon grew sales by 9.5 per cent with 31,415 and 10,171 units, respectively.

The UAE was also up with a total of 22,192 units sold, as were Kuwait and Oman, while the single biggest increases came in Yemen and Palestine – up by 30 and 13 per cent, respectively.

“2014 was another successful year for us in the Middle East with a third consecutive record year,” said Tom Lee, Vice President and Head of Hyundai Africa and Middle East Regional Headquarters.

Hyundai Motor Company reported an overall increase in 2014 sales across Africa & Middle East of 1.4 per cent (511,494 units, including commercial vehicles) and 4.9 per cent globally (4,963,456 units, including commercial vehicles).

The carmaker said demand for the SUV range, featuring Tucson, Santa Fe and Grand Santa Fe, proved strong across the region and accounted for 21.9 per cent of total sales (74,419 units), representing the strongest growth segment for the brand.

Among those, sales of Grand Santa Fe leapt 101 per cent (4,259 units) in its first full year on the market, while the Santa Fe posted a very strong rise of 24 per cent (32,212 units).

Hyundai said among its range of compact and mid-size cars, Elantra continues to be the best seller in the region (92,881 units sold), followed by the Accent (79,013 units, up 9 per cent) and Sonata (28,556 units, up 6 per cent).

Sales of the i10 jumped 67 per cent (21,373 units) following the introduction of Grand i10 during 2014.