Korean Carmakers Gain Ground in European EV Market

Hyundai sold some 57,842 vehicles in Europe during the first two months of this year and about 20 percent of them, or some 11,532, were electric vehicles, meaning that one in five of its sales were EVs.

EVs accounted for a mere 1 percent of the carmaker's total sales in Europe in 2018, but the figure surged to 14 percent last year and now stands at over 20 percent for the first time. Its new all-electric Ioniq 5 led the growth with some 5,170 units sold just in two months since its release late last year.

Affiliate Kia is also steadily increasing EV sales there, with its market share jumping from 13 percent to 17 percent on-year.

According to EU-EVs, which tracks EV sales in Europe, the two Korean carmakers' combined market share stood at 14.6 percent to rank second in terms of EV sales there so far this year, up three notches from fifth place last year, when its share was 10.6 percent.

German carmaker Volkswagen took the top spot with 19.4 percent and American electric giant Tesla came a close third with 14.2 percent.