New car sales in California saw a slight decline in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year. However, market share for Korean brands such as Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis continued to rise, nearing 10%.

In California, the trend of SUVs and trucks surpassing passenger cars in sales continues to accelerate, with eco-friendly vehicles now accounting for one-third of all new car sales.

According to data from automotive manufacturers on the 7th, 892,363 new cars were sold in California in the first half of 2024, representing a 0.7% decrease from 898,349 in the first half of 2023.

Of the total new car sales, passenger cars accounted for 246,660 units, representing 27.6%, which is a significant 11.8% decrease from 277,747 units sold in the same period last year. On the other hand, SUV and truck sales reached 645,703 units, making up 72.4% of the total, and saw a 4.0% increase compared to 620,593 units in the previous year.

Additionally, eco-friendly cars are steadily increasing in share, now comprising one-third of all new vehicles sold in the state. In the first half of this year, a total of 340,086 eco-friendly vehicles were sold, including 191,312 electric vehicles (EVs), 118,222 hybrids, and 30,542 plug-in hybrids, making up 38.1% of total sales, a record high. California continues to lead the nation in both the volume and proportion of eco-friendly vehicle sales.

By country of manufacturer, Japanese brands maintained their leading position. Japanese cars saw a 10.2% year-over-year increase in sales, totaling 376,911 units, with their market share growing from 38.2% to 42.2%.

U.S. brands sold 297,387 units, but experienced an 11.8% decrease compared to last year, with their market share dropping from 37.5% to 33.3%. European brands sold 132,631 units, a 1.5% decrease, with market share slipping slightly from 15.0% to 14.9%.

Korean brands, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis, sold 85,434 units in the first half of 2024, marking a 0.8% increase from 84,768 units in the same period last year. This boosted their market share from 9.4% in the first half of 2023 to a record 9.6% this year.

Kia sold 42,213 units in the first half, a 2.4% decrease from 43,255 units sold last year. Hyundai, however, saw a 3.4% increase, selling 38,420 units compared to 37,170 in the previous year. Genesis sales fell by 12.4%, from 4,215 units in the first half of 2023 to 3,691 this year. Despite this, Kia continues to outperform Hyundai in California.

Among the 36 brands sold in California, Toyota held the largest market share at 16.9%, followed by Tesla at 11.4%, Honda at 10.6%, Ford at 7.6%, and Chevrolet at 5.8%. Kia ranked 6th with a 4.7% share, while Hyundai came in 7th with 4.3%.

In the ranking of the top 10 best-selling vehicles in California, six were Japanese models. Expanding the list to the top 20, 13 Japanese models made the cut. Tesla's Model Y was the top-selling vehicle, with 69,810 units sold, followed by the Toyota RAV4 at 36,160 units, the Toyota Camry at 29,012 units, the Honda Civic at 26,926 units, and the Honda CR-V at 25,340 units.



<Hwandong Cho>