AUTO

Surging EV Sales in April 2024: Hyundai, Kia, Ford, and BMW Lead the Charge

May 10, 2024

The Kia EV9 has boosted Kia to its all-time best month of EV sales.
IONIQ 5 sales are up 31% compared with the same period in 2023.
The Kia EV6 and Hyundai IONIQ 6 also reported strong April 2024 sales figures.
Meanwhile, Ford and Volvo actually saw encouraging numbers for electrified growth as well.

The sister brands Hyundai and Kia, both owned by Korean-based Hyundai Motor Group, capped off the first quarter of 2024 with encouraging EV sales.

Namely, the introduction of the 2024 Kia EV9 at the end of 2023 has helped Kia set records in 2024. In April, the new three-row SUV had its single-best month of sales thus far with 1,572 units moved. That gave Kia its all-time best month of EV sales with more than 3,500 in total.

Likewise, Hyundai saw big jumps for both its IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6 electric models in April. Hyundai sold more than 3,700 IONIQ 5 models in April for a 59% increase over April 2023 sales. It also moved over 1,200 IONIQ 6 models in April for 41% growth.

Though sales of all Hyundai vehicles actually fell by 3% compared with April 2023, the brand’s electrified and fully-electric models carried the sails. Those vehicles saw 26% and 31% growth, respectively, in the same period.

March and Q1 2024 U.S. Hyundai Sales Figures Pass Stunning All-Time Record IONIQ 5

Kia and Hyundai’s Sales Success

Part of the reason behind the jump in sales is that both Kia and Hyundai recently introduced new EVs to the market.

The Kia EV9 joined the smaller Kia EV6 only a few months ago, helping it boost total EV sales as awareness grows throughout 2024. And the IONIQ 6 had only just hit dealers at this time in 2023, leaving last April primed for a big sales increase.

Hyundai IONIQ 5 driving on road with sun low

But the brands are also crucially important to EV sales because of their volume. Through the first four months of 2024, Kia has sold nearly 11,700 fully-electric vehicles in the U.S. while Hyundai sold more than 15,000. In the EV world, which at times has struggled to gain market share against traditionally internal-combustion vehicles, those are big numbers.

The wider industry has faced a difficult path so far in 2024. Industry-wide, new vehicle sales fell by 3.9% last month compared with April from last year. And in some cases, electrified and fully EV models helped automakers stay in the black.

Going Forward Alongside Ford and BMW

Like Hyundai and Kia electric vehicles, another success story came from the iconic U.S. automaker Ford.

Electrify Expo Orlando Hankook EV Demo District Ford Mustang Mach-e side

In April, the brand moved more than 8,000 fully-electric vehicles for a rosy 129% increase over April 2023 sales. Perhaps even better for the EV industry, sales of electric Fords grew from 2.0% of total sales in April 2023 to 4.7% in April 2024.

Similarly, the four fully-electric vehicles sold by BMW recently accounted for more than 10,000 total sales in the first quarter of 2024. EVs now make up 12.7% of all BMW sales in the U.S.

BMW Electric Vehicle Sales Jump 12.7% in Q1 2024, Ongoing Expansion - Electrify Expo Orlando Hankook EV Demo District BMW i4 i5 iX

Month-by-month wins are a big deal for the greater adoption of electric vehicles following a challenging year in 2023. A recent report predicted that EV sales will grow at a modest 21% globally in 2024, which is down significantly compared with previous years. Experts say that U.S. sales have bottlenecked due to high prices and a limited EV selection, among other factors.

Luxury brands like BMW may not be as affected by pricing. But companies like Hyundai, Kia and Ford are showing that increasing their offerings leads to improved sales. We’ll keep a close eye on adoption rates for these automakers and more as 2024 progresses.