Hyundai Motor Group, the world’s third-largest automaker by sales volume, has overtaken Germany’s Volkswagen Group to claim the No. 2 spot globally in profitability for the first half of the year.
Despite U.S. auto tariffs hitting all major automakers hard, analysts say Hyundai’s quick moves—like clearing inventory and adjusting production—helped soften the impact.
Between January and June, Hyundai Motor Group—which includes Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis—sold 3.65 million vehicles worldwide, holding the No. 3 sales spot behind Toyota (5.16 million) and Volkswagen (4.36 million).
But Hyundai pulled ahead of Volkswagen in operating profit, posting a combined margin of 8.7%, just behind Toyota’s 9.2% and more than double Volkswagen’s 4.2%.
Experts say if Hyundai can keep managing tariff pressures and the “EV chasm”—a temporary slowdown in electric vehicle demand—it has a good shot at maintaining its profitability rank through the year.
South Korea’s government fell short of reducing U.S. auto tariffs to its target rate of 12.5%, but analysts note all automakers face similar hurdles, and Hyundai can offset costs by boosting local production. Toyota faced over $2.9 billion in U.S. tariffs in the second quarter alone, while Hyundai’s tariff bill was around $1.1 billion.
Volkswagen, Hyundai’s closest competitor in profit, has struggled in China, its key market. Meanwhile, electric vehicle makers Tesla and China’s BYD are also seeing slower growth, opening more opportunities for Hyundai.
An industry official said, “Although Hyundai’s first-half operating profit dropped more than 10% year-over-year, it performed well compared to Toyota, which dealt with over $2.9 billion in tariffs. While the tariff rate wasn’t lowered as much as hoped, the easing of trade uncertainty is a net positive for Hyundai.”
Toyota, the world’s top automaker by sales, posted first-half revenue of $231.8 billion and operating profit of $21.5 billion, the highest among global automakers. This covers Toyota’s fiscal Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, aligning with Korea’s first two calendar quarters.
Hyundai Motor Group’s revenue hit $111.6 billion with $9.7 billion in operating profit for the same period. This marks the first time Hyundai’s half-year profit exceeded Volkswagen’s $10.9 billion, despite Volkswagen’s higher revenue of $256.5 billion.
U.S. automaker General Motors, ranked fourth globally in sales last year, posted record revenue of $91.1 billion in the first half, with adjusted net income of $4.7 billion.
