Sales of Hyundai Motor Co.’s Grandeur Hybrid exceeded those of the internal combustion engine model for the first time in the first six months of this year as more environmentally-friendly consumers in South Korea go for green vehicles.

Hyundai Motor sold 33,056 units of Grandeur Hybrid in Korea between January and June, accounting for 52.5 percent of the entire Grandeur sedan sales. The hybrid sales exceeded those of the internal combustion engine sales at 29,914 units, which includes 5,292 units of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) models for commercial operations.

The six-generation Grandeur IG saw hybrid models account for only 21.7 percent of the entire sales after launch in 2018. The hybrid version of the most-popular sedan in the first half of this year accounted for more than 50 percent of the entire sales after the release of the seventh generation model, GN7, in November last year.

Sales of Grandeur soared 19.2 percent in the first half of last year, making the model the best-selling vehicle in the country.

Industry insiders noted that the popularity of the Grandeur Hybrid comes as consumers are able to receive the car relatively faster than other models.

It takes three months for Grandeur Hybrid delivery as of July, and it can be reduced to less than two months if necessary.

The Avante Hybrid, on the other hand, takes more than 12 months for delivery, and Sonata Hybrid 10 months.

Kia Corp.’s K8, which uses the same powertrain as the Grandeur, also saw sales of the hybrid version of the sedan outperform the combustion engine model by nearly 7,000 units. The hybrid model accounted for 63.6 percent of the entire sales of 25,155 units in the first half of this year.

It takes two months for the delivery of K8 Hybrid as of July.

According to CarIsYou, an automotive research data firm, there were 151,108 registrations of new hybrid cars between January and June, up 42.9 percent from the same period a year ago, accounting for 16.5 percent of the entire new car sales.

By Lee Yu-sup and Han Yubin

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]