With Kia losing its place in the Top 10 for July, we decided to take a look at how Korean brands are performing locally. Here is an in-depth assessment of the data to see where they stand against compatriots Hyundai.
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With a portfolio of several more cars in the local passenger vehicle segment, Hyundai features frequently on the Top 10 passenger sales list for each month, provided by Naamsa.
Starting with their most popular by volume, both Korean manufacturers offer competitively priced entry-level vehicles in both sedan and hatchback configurations. This is comfortably Hyundai’s most popular segment, with the Grand i10 earning shy of 1 000 units in July. As with many cars in this list, it is built on the same platform as the Kia and shares most of its inner workings. The Hyundai nameplate will now also offer a sedan derivative of the Grand i10 while will indirectly compete against Kia’s entry-level sedan offering in the Pegas. Read our review of the newcomer here.
- Hyundai Grand i10 – 825
- Kia Picanto – 247
- Kia Pegas – 48
Related: Hyundai Reveals Pricing and Specs for New Grand i10 Sedan
Further up in terms of size and specifications, we have sales of the B-segment hatchback from each Korean automaker. Again, they share the same architecture as well as mechanical workings.
- Hyundai i20 – 549
- Kia Rio – 210
Underpinned by the same platform as the hatchbacks above, the Koreans also offer a pumped-up version offering good value for money and a selection of drivetrains.
- Hyundai Venue – 509
- Kia Sonet – 360
Further up the SUV pecking order are the Hyundai’s duo of Creta and Grand Creta which goes up against Kia Seltos. Slightly more expensive but similarly sized is Hyundai’s Kona.
- Hyundai Creta – 249
- Hyundai Grand Creta – 25
- Hyundai Kona – 14
- Kia Seltos – 200
In the more premium segment, the Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage. Both models use the same platform and are offered with a variety of powertrains.
- Hyundai Tucson – 188
- Kia Sportage – 91
Purpose-built people movers, these sliding door equipped luxury family haulers are unsurprisingly built on the same N3 front-/all-wheel drive Hyundai-Kia platform.
- Hyundai Staria – 69
- Kia Carnival – 46
Finally, serving as a local flagship for the South African lineup, Kia’s Sorento squares up against its Korean counterpart in the Hyundai Santa Fe.
- Hyundai Santa Fe – 30
- Kia Sorento – 12
With Hyundai offering certain models in no direct competition with those over at Kia, these are their total sales numbers for the month of July:
- Hyundai – 2 556
- Kia – 1 214