Hyundai-Kia Overtakes Toyota in Europe

According to reports, the Hyundai Motor Group overtook Toyota in October to become the best selling Asian carmaker in Europe this year, provisionally speaking. Data from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, or ACEA, had Hyundai and Kia’s European sales up by 4% in the first 10 months of 2010, to 521,369 vehicles, while Toyota’s sales, including that of Lexus, fell 16.5% percent to 511,754.


Hyundai’s achievement is significant, given that new car registrations in Europe decreased by 5% for the first ten months of the year, with 11.6 million new vehicles registered, compared to the 12.24 million for the same time period in 2009.

The Korean carmaker’s US sales has also gone up, by 21%, its market share increasing as Toyota’s fell, not surprising given the negative impact brought about by the latter’s seemingly endless stream of recalls. Sales of the Sonata were up by 64% – comparatively, Camry sales dropped by 6.3%.

Back in Europe, Nissan should also have a lot to smile about – among the major players, it has posted the most significant gains in 2010 sales, up 13.1% from last year