The sales of these 6 Korean SUVs have been pushed into a desperate situation.

In the automobile market, SUV is "undoubtedly" the hottest segment in the domestic automobile market. Many models have seen a sharp increase in sales thanks to the "East Wind". However, there are exceptions to this trend, especially Korean SUVs, which are caught in the gap between being oppressed by strong joint venture brands above and fiercely pursued by domestic brands below. Their advantage as the "cheapest joint venture car" has made it difficult to attract domestic consumers.

Based on the sales data of vehicle models in May, The Paper counted the six Korean SUV models with the worst monthly sales. It is worth noting that the SUV models that were once the "sales kings" of Korean models, such as KX3, KX5, and ix35, were also not spared, with the highest year-on-year decline reaching nearly 90%.

Specifically, the worst-selling model among the six Korean SUVs on the list is the new Santa Fe from Beijing Hyundai. Only 403 units were sold in May, down 60.6% from 1,024 units last year. In the first five months, a total of 4,887 units of the new Santa Fe were sold, down 57% year-on-year. In fact, Santa Fe was once a hot-selling model of Beijing Hyundai. In its most glorious moment in 2013, monthly sales exceeded 8,000 units, and cumulative sales in 2014 exceeded 70,000 units. However, after entering 2015, the performance of the new Santa Fe was shocking, and sales plummeted. The reason is that in the SUV range of 200,000 to 300,000 yuan, the new Santa Fe faces too strong competitors, such as Highlander, Edge, Envision, etc., and the new Santa Fe does not have an advantage in terms of body size and brand power.
In addition, the quality of the new Santa Fe has also been criticized. In June this year, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced that due to the risk of power loss in some new Santa Fes, 43,764 defective vehicles produced between November 29, 2012 and November 30, 2013 will be recalled from July 31 this year.

Dongfeng Yueda Kia KX3

Following the new Santa Fe were three SUV models of Dongfeng Yueda Kia - KX3, KX7 and KX5, which sold only 583, 612 and 708 units respectively in May. Among them, the KX3, a small SUV with a high cost performance, saw a month-on-month decline of 90.3% in May. In the first five months, a total of 4,777 units were sold, a year-on-year decline of 84.1%.
From the performance this year, the highest sales volume of KX3 was February, but only 1,419 units were sold. After that, the sales volume gradually decreased until it fell to a low of 583 units in May. Such sales volume is very "awkward" among the same level models, especially compared with some hot-selling domestic small SUVs, such as Haval H2, which sold 15,539 units in May, and KX3 is not even a fraction of it. In addition, Geely Emgrand GS is almost 17 times that of Kia KX3, and Changan CS35's sales in May are also nearly 10 times that of Kia KX3.
It is worth noting that in order to save the sluggish sales, Dongfeng Yueda Kia released the KX7, a heavyweight SUV with 7 seats, in March this year, priced at 179,800-244,800 yuan. The model is built on the old platform of the previous generation Sorento and is exclusively supplied to the Chinese market. However, the KX7, which was highly expected, only sold 612 units in a single month. Not only did it fail to "save the market", but it was "unable to recover".

Beijing Hyundai ix35

In addition to the three SUVs under Dongfeng Yueda Kia, the ix35, once the "sales champion" of Beijing Hyundai, also experienced a dismal May. Data showed that Beijing Hyundai ix35 sold 817 units in a single month, a year-on-year plunge of 87.8%. In the first five months, a total of 10,249 units were sold, with an average monthly sales of only about 2,000 units.
In fact, ix35 was ranked among the top five SUV sales in 2013 and 2014, with an average annual sales of about 150,000 units. In 2016, ix35 sold a total of 71,900 units, with monthly sales of about 6,000 units. Although this result is remarkable considering the popularity of SUVs in China today, the sales of ix35 have declined significantly in 2017: in January and February, ix35 sales remained at an average of about 3,000 units per month, but in March it fell to 1,793 units, a month-on-month drop of 45%. In April, there was still no improvement, with only 1,080 units sold, a month-on-month drop of 40%.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.