Hyundai Motor Group No. 3 car seller in global rank as of H1

South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Group has moved up two notches in global rank to become world’s third-largest car seller in the first half, led by green and premium fleet.

According to multiple sources from the automobile industry and earnings report of each company on Monday, Hyundai Motor Group sold 3.299 million cars from January to June, third largest after Toyota Group (5.138 million) and Volkswagen Group (4.006 million).

The group’s Hyundai Motor and Kia overtook Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance (3.14 million units) among French and Japanese manufacturers and Stellantis Group (3,010,900 units) representing Fiat Chrysler of Italy and the United States and Peugeot Citroen Group of France.

Hyundai Motor Group has ranked fifth in global sales since 2010. It sold 6.667 million cars last year.

Improved sales come as Hyundai Motor Group has diversified its supply chain amid supply setback in some auto component parts such as chips and maintained low inventory. The auto giant is said to have responded faster to auto chip shortage crisis.

Many finished carmakers were affected by chip shortage in the first six months of this year. Global top Toyota Group’s sales fell 6 percent on year, Volkswagen Group 14 percent, Stellantis 16 percent, and Renault-Nissan- Mitsubishi alliance 17.3 percent. Sales of Hyundai Motor Group, on the other hand, fell relatively small 5.1 percent.

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Korea’s car exports reached an all-time high of $5.14 billion in July. Hyundai Motor’s outbound shipments rose 9.6 percent on year to 91,649 units. Hyundai Motor and Kia’s operating incomes also reached a record 4.9 trillion won and 3.8 trillion won, respectively, in the first six months from the same period last year.

“Hyundai Motor is moving swiftly in various sectors from software design to operations to smoothly deal with chip supply shortage,” Chang Jae-hoon, chief executive of Hyundai Motor, told reporters in April.

The group has also managed inventory more flexibly.

Jose Munoz, global chief operating officer who is also president and chief executive at Hyundai Motor North America and Hyundai Motor America, told Maeil Business Newspaper in May that the automaker has been able to keep up solid performance with flexible management despite uncertain external environment.

Hyundai Motor America, for example, kept inventory lower than other carmakers that maintain two to three month worth of stocks. It also maximized profit by supplying chips first to best-selling models.

Hyundai Motor Group has also made prominence in the global electric vehicle market with Hyundai Motor’s IONIQ 5 and Kia’s EV6.

Hyundai Motor Group sold 27,000 electric vehicles in the U.S. between January and May, coming in second after Tesla, according to Bloomberg.

Hyundai Motor plans to release IONIQ 6 in the second half and Kia large electric SUV EV9, which is expected to boost competitiveness of its EV fleet.

“Hyundai Motor Group should accelerate more efforts to prepare future vehicles given multiple risk factors such as inflation reduction in the U.S.,” said Lee Hang-koo, a researcher at Korea Automotive Technology Institute.

[ㄏ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]