Hyundai Motor Enters the '100 Trillion Won Club' for the First Time in History with Annual Sales

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] Hyundai Motor Company has achieved its first-ever sales milestone of 100 trillion KRW since its founding, driven by an improved sales mix focused on sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and favorable exchange rate effects. Despite a decrease in sales volume, revenue increased due to a profitability enhancement strategy, marking Hyundai's entry into the "100 trillion club."

Hyundai Motor announced on the 22nd that its 2019 business performance significantly improved compared to the previous year. Hyundai's sales revenue rose 9.3% year-on-year to 105.79 trillion KRW, and operating profit surged by 52.1% to 3.68 trillion KRW.

The operating profit margin, which had fallen to 2.5% last year, climbed to 3.5%. Hyundai has set a target operating profit margin of 5% for this year. Additionally, the annual operating profit, which had dropped to the 2 trillion KRW range in 2018, rebounded to 3.68 trillion KRW this year. This marks the first operating profit rebound for Hyundai in seven years since 2012.

Based on operating profit, despite large one-time costs related to recalls in the third quarter of last year, improvements in the sales mix of SUVs and luxury models (1.404 trillion KRW) offset these expenses, and positive exchange rate effects (987 billion KRW) also contributed.

Hyundai Motor Company 2019 Annual Performance

Hyundai's popular model, the Palisade, surpassed 50,000 units in annual domestic sales in the Korean market and recorded nearly 30,000 units sold annually in the U.S. market. In Europe, the compact SUV Kona sold 27,308 units in the fourth quarter alone, achieving a growth rate exceeding 40% year-on-year.

This year, Hyundai is expected to focus on a premium strategy led by the Genesis brand. The annual sales target announced by Genesis this year is 16,000 units, marking the first time since the brand's launch that it has set a goal exceeding 100,000 units. The launch of Genesis's second SUV, the GV70, is scheduled for the second half of this year, with the first Genesis electric vehicle planned for release next year.

Lee Yong-woo, Head of the Genesis Division, said, "We set aggressive sales targets because we believe the SUVs, including the GV80 launched earlier this year and the GV70 scheduled for release in the second half, have strong market competitiveness. We are working to seize the optimal timing ahead of the European and Chinese launches this year."

Genesis GV80