Hyundai’s Hybrids Are On A Tear: Q2 Sales

• Hyundai and Kia reported their second quarter sales on Tuesday.
• Hybrid sales are up while EV sales are down due to model year changeovers.
• The Santa Fe and Tucson hybrids reached new sales records.
• The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is still the group’s top selling EV.

Hyundai and Kia reported the best-ever first-half sales results in the U.S. on Tuesday. Both automakers sold almost half a million cars in the U.S. in the first six months of the year, boosted by hybrids even as their fully electric models fell short of expectations.

The Tucson and Elantra propelled Hyundai’s first-half sales to 439,280 total units, the automaker’s highest-ever result for the first six months of the year and a 10% year-over-year jump. For Kia, the Telluride and K4 helped the automaker log 416,511 sales in the first two quarters, an 8% increase over the same period last year.

Hyundai’s hybrids seem to have turbocharged these numbers, even though its best-selling models are still the gas-powered Tucson, Santa Fe and Elantra. The Tucson hybrid and plug-in hybrid, as well as the Santa Fe hybrid, both set total and retail sales records in the first half of the year. Hyundai’s total electrified sales, which include hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fully electric models, were up 20% in the first half of 2025.

It’s unclear exactly how many hybrids Hyundai and Kia sold. The automakers group them with the gas-only counterparts.

EV sales declined in the first half, but only slightly. Hyundai sold 19,092 units of the Ioniq 5, about 2% less than the year before. The Ioniq 6 experienced a steeper 9% decline, going from 6,912 units last year to 6,322 units in the first six months of this year. For the second quarter of the year, both the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 were down 12% and 8%, respectively. The Ioniq 9 three-row electric SUV logged 1,013 deliveries so far this year.

The sales of the Kia EV6 and EV9 have also declined this year. The EV6 fell by roughly 46%, going from 10,941 units last year to just 5,875. The EV9 was down about 49%, declining from 9,671 units sold last year to 4,938 units sold through June.

Kia EV9 Nightfall Edition

Photo by: Kia

Back in May, Kia attributed the decline to model year changes—both the EV6 and EV9 will now get the Tesla-style North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug right from the factory for seamless access to tens of thousands of Superchargers across the country. All of Hyundai’s EVs, except the Kona Electric, also now get the Tesla plug right from the factory. The Kona and its corporate cousin, Kia Niro EV, can use NACS adapters to charge at Tesla Superchargers.

Sales of hybrids have surged in the U.S. lately, as EV sales grow unevenly and at a slower rate than automakers once expected. Plus, as pro-EV policies face regulatory pressures under the Trump administration, with tax credits on the chopping block, buyers seem to be gravitating towards hybrids, which generally deliver excellent fuel economy and can even drive on electric-only modes at slow city speeds.

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