Hyundai Motor Group of South Korea said on Monday that despite a paucity of automotive chips, it placed third in first-half worldwide vehicle sales.
According to sales figures, Hyundai Motor, its independent Genesis brand, and Hyundai's smaller subsidiary Kia Corp. sold 3.299 million cars in worldwide markets between January and June, trailing Toyota Motor Group's 5.138 million units and Volkswagen Group's 4.006 million units.
Increased sales of Genesis models, the all-electric Hyundai IONIQ 5, and the pure electric Kia EV6 boosted the Korean automaker's sales position in the first six months, according to Yonhap news agency.
The group's ranking rose from sixth to first in the first half of 2021, with sales of 3.475 million vehicles.
The Korean automaker's first-half sales declined 5.1% year on year, outperforming its worldwide competitors.
Toyota Group sales fell 6%, Volkswagen Group sales fell 14%, Stellantis sales down 16%, and General Motors sales fell 19%.
Stellantis is a 50:50 joint venture formed by the merging of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. in the United States and PSA Groupe in France.
Hyundai Motor said this week that it will spend $424 million to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) research center in the United States to strengthen its position in robotics technology, which it sees as a major future development driver.