One in four Hyundai cars sold in US is a Tucson — and hybrids are leading the charge

Hyundai Motor's compact SUV Tucson, reborn as a fully redesigned fifth-generation model for the first time in six years, will make its global debut in New York on Oct. 1 (local time).

The Tucson is Hyundai Motor's best-selling model in the United States and a key pillar of the automaker's American growth even as it struggles in China and other major markets. Hyundai Motor plans to expand the share of hybrid electric vehicles in its US lineup to boost both sales volume and profitability.

Hyundai Motor said the Tucson sold 234,230 units in the United States last year, accounting for 23.8 percent of the combined Hyundai and Genesis sales of 984,017 units — roughly one in every four Hyundai vehicles sold in the country.

That figure outpaced every other Hyundai model over the same period, including the Elantra (148,200 units), Santa Fe (142,404 units) and Palisade (123,929 units). Cumulative global sales of the Tucson have now surpassed 10 million units, cementing its status as Hyundai Motor's best-selling SUV of all time.

The United States is Hyundai Motor's single largest market worldwide. In the second quarter, the automaker sold 265,000 units in the US on a wholesale basis, topping South Korea, Europe and India. While the Korean market posted 158,000 units — down 16.4 percent year on year — and Europe recorded 144,000 units, a 10.9 percent decline, the US market edged higher.

The US performance was also notable within the broader industry context. Total US industry demand in the second quarter reached about 4.238 million units, up 0.5 percent year on year, but Hyundai Motor outpaced the market with a 0.9 percent gain. The automaker has maintained a market share in the 6 percent range for five consecutive quarters, continuing to grow sales even as overall US demand has stagnated amid delayed interest rate cuts.

Hybrid vehicle sales in the US market are also rising rapidly, driven by their higher margins. In the second quarter, hybrids accounted for 26.2 percent of Hyundai Motor's US sales — a record high.

Hybrid powertrains command higher selling prices and profit margins than internal combustion engine vehicles. Lee Seung-jo, Hyundai Motor's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said at last month's 2026 CEO Investor Day that "while the contribution margin for internal combustion engines is around 20 percent, hybrids are about 5 percentage points higher." Contribution margin refers to revenue minus variable costs; subtracting fixed costs from that figure yields operating profit.

The Tucson hybrid in particular has been the best-selling hybrid powertrain model in the Hyundai Motor Group lineup since its launch in 2021. Cumulative hybrid sales by Hyundai Motor Group — comprising Hyundai Motor and Kia — in the US reached about 1.487 million units as of May, with the Tucson HEV leading all models at 258,000 cumulative units.

The Tucson is therefore expected to play a central role in Hyundai Motor's push to expand hybrid powertrain sales in the US. The company plans to launch 10 new hybrid models in North America by 2030 and raise the hybrid share of its sales mix to 50 percent.

"We need to provide customers with the vehicles they want, and given current demand, hybrids are the biggest opportunity," Hyundai Motor President and CEO Jose Munoz said at the Investor Day. "When we consider the contribution to profit and loss, we should focus on hybrids over internal combustion engines."

The Tucson has also been among the models most directly hit by the tariff war triggered by Donald Trump. With the US imposing a 15 percent tariff on Korean-made vehicles and parts, Hyundai Motor and Kia are estimated to have shouldered roughly 7.2 trillion won ($5.29 billion) in tariff costs last year alone.

Hyundai Motor has responded by ramping up US domestic production. Its Alabama plant, known as HMMA, has steadily increased Tucson output — from 95,237 units in the January–August period of 2024 to 101,536 units over the same stretch in 2025, a 6.6 percent rise. Through August this year, production reached 114,180 units, up 12.5 percent from the prior year.

By contrast, Tucson production at Kia's plant in Mexico has been halted since March. That facility, which began operations in June 2024, had ramped up to 11,263 units in the January–August period last year, but output plunged 79.1 percent to just 2,359 units over the same period this year. Since March, production has effectively stopped, recording zero output. Tucson exports from domestic Korean production have remained at roughly 90,000 units over the same period.

Hyundai Motor has said it plans to increase annual US production of the Tucson and Palisade by more than 200,000 units, centered on its Alabama plant and HMGMA in Georgia. The company intends to gradually scale up HMGMA's current monthly output of around 5,000 units, targeting an annual capacity of around 300,000 units by 2028.

The fifth-generation Tucson set to be unveiled in New York features a more muscular exterior built around Hyundai Motor's "Art of Steel" design language. With a focus on family SUV utility, the new model offers a larger body and expanded interior, and is the first Hyundai SUV to feature the Pleos Connect infotainment system.

The vehicle is 60 millimeters longer, 40 millimeters wider and has a 30-millimeter longer wheelbase than its predecessor, while second-row headroom grows by 29 millimeters to 1,031 millimeters. Two powertrain options are available: a 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline engine producing 193 horsepower, and a 1.6-liter turbocharged hybrid system with a combined output of 245 horsepower and fuel economy of 17.4 kilometers per liter. The drag coefficient improves from 0.33 to 0.30.

Safety and convenience features have also been significantly upgraded. The new Tucson is the first Hyundai vehicle to feature a dual-power door unlock system that can release door locks even if the main power supply is cut in a collision, and it is the first in its class to offer a memory reverse assist function that records the vehicle's previous path and automatically steers it back along the same route.

The model also comes equipped with Pleos Connect, an infotainment system powered by the generative AI agent Gleo AI. Hyundai Motor previewed the design and features to domestic media ahead of the New York debut; pricing will be announced in October, with Korean sales to follow. A US launch is expected next year.