Through the first three quarters of 2025, Hyundai and Kia jointly sold 831,933 hybrid vehicles worldwide, a year-on-year jump of 27.2 per cent.
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Check Offers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. appear to be approaching a quiet but defining shift in their global strategy. If current trends hold, the two Korean manufacturers are on track to cross 1 million hybrid vehicle sales in a single year for the first time — a marker that says as much about the present state of the auto industry as it does about their own product planning.
The numbers, reported by Pulse (the English service of Maeil Business News Korea), point to a market recalibrating itself faster than many anticipated.
Hybrid momentum builds as EV enthusiasm plateaus
Through the first three quarters of 2025, Hyundai and Kia jointly sold 831,933 hybrid vehicles worldwide, a year-on-year jump of 27.2 per cent. At this pace, full-year sales could comfortably push past 1.1 million units, cementing hybrids as the new mainstream choice in many markets.
The shift is not happening in a vacuum. The slowdown in global EV incentives, coupled with rising battery costs and tariff uncertainty, especially in the U.S., has nudged buyers toward the middle ground. Hybrids, for all their compromises, now sit in that sweet spot between traditional ICE familiarity and EV efficiency, and consumers seem far more comfortable making that leap.
This is reflected in the sales charts. Hyundai–Kia’s SUV lineup, long a backbone of their global presence, is leading the charge. The Tucson Hybrid (132,991 units), Sportage Hybrid (120,054 units) and Santa Fe Hybrid (95,168 units) have turned into reliable volume drivers, particularly in the U.S. and Europe.
Korea embraces hybrids as the Palisade signals a shift
The transition is even more visible in the Korean domestic market. Hyundai’s new Palisade Hybrid, launched in April, has not only found its footing, it has overtaken its gasoline counterpart. Data from the Korea Automobile & Mobility Association shows 26,930 units of the Palisade Hybrid sold through September, compared to 18,005 gasoline models.
For a market traditionally comfortable with petrol powertrains, this kind of swing is telling. Rising fuel costs, policy nudges, and a more informed consumer base have collectively pushed hybrids to the front of consideration lists.
U.S. market becomes the bellwether
The U.S., one of Hyundai’s most crucial markets, has become the centre of the hybrid narrative. The phasing out of federal EV subsidies of up to USD 7,500 last October has had an immediate impact, hybrids suddenly look more financially sensible to buyers who were hesitant about full EV ownership.
Hyundai’s response has been swift. The company introduced the Palisade Hybrid to the U.S. in September and has expanded production of the Santa Fe Hybrid at its Alabama plant. Between January and September alone, Hyundai produced 62,000 Santa Fe Hybrids in the U.S., a staggering 140 per cent increase from the previous year.
At the same time, Hyundai has temporarily halted production of the Genesis GV70 EV, diverting resources toward hybrid models, a move that suggests the company is prioritising where demand is strongest rather than chasing volume in a still-maturing EV segment.
The broader picture: what this means going forward
It seems, in an environment where EV adoption is slowing due to cost and infrastructure constraints, hybrids have become the pragmatic choice. They offer lower operating costs, fewer charging anxieties, and critically healthier profit margins for manufacturers.
An industry official quoted in the report sums up the mood succinctly: with EV challenges unresolved, hybrids are “the most practical choice” for many U.S. consumers.
For Hyundai and Kia, the projected million-unit milestone isn’t just a statistic. It marks a pivot point, a reminder that strategy sometimes needs to follow the market rather than lead it. And in 2025, the market seems very clear about where it’s heading.
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First Published Date: 14 Nov 2025, 10:53 am IST
