Hyundai Motor Group EV Sales Up 24%, Slips to No. 8

Global EV and plug-in hybrid deliveries reached 11.8 million units in the first seven months of 2026, up 6.3% from a year earlier, according to market researcher SNE Research's data released Sept. 8. Hyundai Motor and Kia delivered 442,000 of those units, a 24.2% jump that far outpaced the global average. Despite that growth, a faster-rising rival knocked the group down a notch — from seventh place last year to eighth.

The company that leapfrogged Hyundai Motor Group is Chery Automobile, a fast-rising Chinese automaker. Chery delivered 468,000 units, up 34.2% year over year, taking over the group's old spot. China's BYD kept the overall top ranking but actually saw deliveries fall 17.9% to 1.816 million units, with its market share also slipping. Geely held on to second place with 1.172 million units, a modest increase, while Tesla came in third with 943,000 deliveries and grew its market share from the mid-7% range to 8%. Ninth-place Leapmotor surged 67.1% to 418,000 units, nipping right at Hyundai Motor Group's heels.

Regional results told a mixed story. China, still the world's largest EV market by far, delivered 6.366 million units — but that was down 8.2% from a year earlier, and its share of the global total slipped to just above half. Europe, by contrast, grew 29.2% to 2.966 million units, pushing its share up to roughly a quarter of the global market, while Asia excluding China surged more than 77% to 1.114 million units. North America was the outlier, falling 22.7% to 790,000 units — the only major region posting a clear decline.

Industry watchers say a recovery in European sales and rising demand across Asia outside China are what drove Hyundai Motor Group's numbers up. The group plans to keep expanding its share with new models like the Ioniq 3 and Kia EV2. SNE Research flagged three swing factors for the rest of the year: how much further China's domestic market cools off, how long the gap left by the lapsed EV tax credit in the US persists, and whether Europe's growth streak holds up. The firm also noted that as Chinese automakers push harder into overseas markets, competition is shifting beyond raw sales volume toward local manufacturing capacity, pricing strategy and supply-chain resilience.