Hyundai Motor has launched the 5th generation Santa Fe in August 2023 and initially sold this SUV model only in the domestic market with gasoline engine variants. In the first two months of the new Santa Fe’s launch, the hybrid version was not yet available, making the new generation model not truly create a “fever”.
However, starting from October 2023, the new generation Santa Fe has been supplemented with Hybrid variants, significantly boosting the sales of this model in South Korea. Specifically, the number of new Santa Fe sold in October reached 7,946 cars, an increase of 3,617 cars compared to the previous month, September. Of which, up to 4,669 cars are hybrid models, accounting for 58.7%.
Kia has also launched the upgraded version of the 4th generation Sorento in August 2023 and started selling it massively. Kia Sorento is a very popular SUV model and has been leading in terms of sales in South Korea for the past 3 consecutive years.
In October, the new Sorento continued to lead in terms of domestic car sales with 8,777 cars sold, but it decreased by more than 1,400 cars compared to September. Of which, the hybrid version accounted for 65.9% with 5,786 cars.
A Korean automotive industry official said: “The competition between the Santa Fe and the Sorento has been revived in the mid-size SUV market”.
It is hoped that the new versions of these two models will soon be brought to the Vietnamese market.
Trang Nguyen (Forum.autodaily.vn)
