Hyundai Tucson Regains No.1 Position as Top Export Model

Tucson August Exports Rank 1st, Surpassing Kona and Trailblazer
Maintains Overseas Popularity... Overseas Sales Exceed 100,000 Units from January to August This Year
Expecting Export Increase with 4th Generation New Tucson Launch Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Hyundai Motor Company's compact mid-size sport utility vehicle (SUV), Tucson, reclaimed the top spot among domestic export models last month. The best-selling Hyundai SUV Tucson has already surpassed 100,000 units in overseas sales as of August this year, and with the upcoming launch of the new 4th generation Tucson, further export growth is expected.

According to the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association on the 25th, in the monthly export rankings by passenger car model for August this year, Hyundai's compact mid-size SUV Tucson recorded 17,006 units, ranking first. The second place was taken by Korea GM's small SUV Trailblazer (11,201 units), and third place by Hyundai's small SUV Kona (10,319 units).

This is the first time in six months since February that Tucson has surpassed Kona to become the monthly export volume leader. Based on last year's annual figures, Tucson (248,153 units) ranked second following Kona (265,981 units), consistently maintaining a top position as a key export model. Additionally, Korea GM's Trailblazer, which began North American exports at the end of last year, has maintained monthly exports of around 10,000 units, which is also noteworthy.

Of course, this was partly due to the reflected benefit of Kona, which had increased export shipments to over 20,000 units per month until July, adjusting inventory levels in August. However, unlike its sluggish performance in the domestic market, Tucson has been steadily increasing exports by confirming consistent demand overseas. Hyundai Motor plans to maintain production of the existing 3rd generation export volume for some time even after launching the new 4th generation Tucson next month.

Hyundai Motor Company 3rd Generation Tucson

Last year, approximately 280,000 Tucson units were produced domestically, of which 248,000 units, accounting for 88%, were exported overseas to regions such as North America and the Middle East. Among vehicles exported from Korea, Tucson is the only model, aside from Kona, to exceed 250,000 units annually. Additionally, Tucson is locally produced at plants in India, China, the Czech Republic, and Vietnam, with the majority of the volume sold in Europe handled by the Czech plant (210,000 units annually). Including both domestic and overseas production, over 90% of the global production volume (540,000 units annually) is sold overseas.

In the domestic market, Tucson's sales have gradually declined over the past five years due to model aging since the launch of the 3rd generation in 2015, whereas it continues to enjoy steady popularity overseas, especially in North America and Europe. Hyundai plans to reclaim the top position in the domestic SUV market by launching the new 4th generation Tucson, a full model change after five years, next month in Korea. The new Tucson has shown a hot initial response, breaking the record with over 10,000 contracts on the first day of domestic pre-orders alone.

Meanwhile, as Tucson is a 'key export' model and is expected to reclaim the best-selling SUV status domestically, Hyundai Motor's labor union has also taken steps to secure domestic production volumes of Tucson. In May, the Hyundai Motor union expressed opposition to producing the new 4th generation Tucson in the United States based on collective bargaining agreement clauses. An industry insider said, "There is a possibility that Tucson may follow the same path as Palisade, which could not meet export volumes due to explosive domestic demand," adding, "Given the hot initial response, careful attention must be paid to volume adjustments."

Hyundai New 4th Generation Tucson