South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group stands as the second-largest player in the U.S. market for electric vehicles (EVs) despite concerns surrounding Washington's protectionism policy, data showed Sunday.

Hyundai Motor Co. took up 4.8 percent of the U.S. EV market in the January-September period, with its smaller sister Kia Corp. accounting for 2.7 percent, according to U.S. magazine Automotive News.

Their combined market share came to 7.5 percent, or 64,000 units, taking up the second-largest slice of the U.S. EV market following Tesla Inc., which posted a 57.4 percent share, or 489,000 units.

General Motors Co.'s Chevrolet brand accounted for 5.9 percent, followed by Ford Motor Co. with 5.5 percent.

In the first nine months, overall EV registrations in the U.S. jumped 61 percent on-year to 852,904 units, the data said.

Automotive News expected EV registrations in the world's most important automobile market will exceed 1 million units for the first time this year if EV sales continue to rise despite the slowing pace of growth.

Hyundai's latest performance came amid the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which provides tax credits of up to $7,500 to purchasers of electric vehicles that are assembled in North America.

Currently, all Hyundai and Kia EVs sold in the North American market are manufactured in South Korea, making them not eligible to receive the credits. Nevertheless, their products can qualify for the support when used for commercial purposes, such as leasing.