Photo: Hyundai
The car market is not in very good shape right now but that doesn’t mean carmakers don’t look at the new year with plenty of optimism. Hyundai started 2022 with a bold New Year’s resolution to further increase its sales and of course the market share, despite the chip shortage wreaking havoc in the car industry.
It’s that time of the year when companies all over the world announce new targets. Hyundai and its sister company Kia, for instance, pledge to sell 12% more cars globally in 2022, despite having a rather bland 2021, with sales falling short of the target. This means the Koreans have found a magical way out of the chip shortage crisis that affected its sales in 2021.
The two companies sold 6.67 million vehicles in 2021, and that was around 3.7% less than their combined target of 6.92 million. The blame was put on the supply problems in the auto industry, including the chip shortage that got everyone affected. Despite missing the 2021 target, Hyundai and Kia want to up the stakes with a 7,47 million vehicles target in 2022.
“In 2022, Hyundai Motor plans to expand its market share and strengthen profitability through efforts to stabilize chip supply and demand, adjust vehicle production schedules, strengthen electric vehicle lineups as well as optimize sales profit and loss by region,” Hyundai Motor said in a statement on Monday.
If you think the new target is unrealistic, we must say not all agree. Analysts quoted by Automotive News believe the numbers are well within reach, especially as the demand for new vehicles is expected to stay strong throughout this year. The only question is how Hyundai does plan to “stabilize chip supply,” but considering the powerful Korean electronics industry and close ties between various companies within the country, this should be already taken care of.
The chip shortage has hit hard the automotive industry and many carmakers had to prioritize their production to favor the most profitable cars. In other cases, cars were produced without some features to save the precious electronic components for more expensive models. Of course, in other cases, the cars were not produced at all, because the plants were idled to wait for a new batch of chips.
The two companies sold 6.67 million vehicles in 2021, and that was around 3.7% less than their combined target of 6.92 million. The blame was put on the supply problems in the auto industry, including the chip shortage that got everyone affected. Despite missing the 2021 target, Hyundai and Kia want to up the stakes with a 7,47 million vehicles target in 2022.
“In 2022, Hyundai Motor plans to expand its market share and strengthen profitability through efforts to stabilize chip supply and demand, adjust vehicle production schedules, strengthen electric vehicle lineups as well as optimize sales profit and loss by region,” Hyundai Motor said in a statement on Monday.
If you think the new target is unrealistic, we must say not all agree. Analysts quoted by Automotive News believe the numbers are well within reach, especially as the demand for new vehicles is expected to stay strong throughout this year. The only question is how Hyundai does plan to “stabilize chip supply,” but considering the powerful Korean electronics industry and close ties between various companies within the country, this should be already taken care of.
The chip shortage has hit hard the automotive industry and many carmakers had to prioritize their production to favor the most profitable cars. In other cases, cars were produced without some features to save the precious electronic components for more expensive models. Of course, in other cases, the cars were not produced at all, because the plants were idled to wait for a new batch of chips.
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