Hyundai Motor India sees record profits

[Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group]

Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) recently found that its operations in India are the most profitable among its global subsidiaries. In India’s developing market, the automaker effectively increased its profit margins by focusing on selling primarily low-end vehicles while gradually increasing the proportion of higher-value models.

According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service as of Monday, Hyundai Motor India (HMI) reported sales of 2.7 trillion won ($1.9 billion) and a net profit of 267.3 billion won in the first quarter of 2024, a 13.2 percent increase in sales and a 21 percent rise in net profit compared to previous year. HMI‘s net profit margin for the quarter stood at 9.7 percent, up from 9 percent in the first quarter of 2023 and significantly higher than the 6.4 percent recorded in the first quarter of 2019.

Hyundai Motor’ Creta

Despite the improvement in profitability, the volume change found seems modest. HMI sold over 193,700 units wholesale during the quarter, or a 14.3 percent increase over five years ago. In the Indian market alone, first-quarter sales have risen 14 percent over the past five years while net profit has surged by 150 percent.

A key factor in HMI’s increased profitability is its growth in high-value vehicle salesHMI‘s sport utility vehicle (SUV) sales in the Indian market for the first quarter of 2024 tripled from 32,276 units in 2019 to 105,082 units in 2024. The share of SUV sales grew from 24 percent to 66 percent, while sales for the less profitable light and compact sedans and hatchbacks decreased from 76 percent to 50 percent over the past five years.