Source: Gasgoo Author: Xing Yun
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According to Reuters, South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co and its affiliate Kia Corp expect their global sales to grow by about 2% in 2024, although sales fell short of targets last year.
Shares of Hyundai and Kia fell 3.3% and 3.9% respectively on 3 January, while the Korea Composite Stock Index (KOSPI) fell 2.3%.
The two companies sold 7.3 million vehicles in 2023, about 3 % less than the planned target of 7.52 million, mainly due to the sluggish economic environment, including rising interest rates and inflation that has made cars unaffordable for some consumers. Hyundai and Kia said their global sales target for this year would be set at 7.44 million vehicles.
Image source: Hyundai
In a statement, Hyundai said, “Hyundai plans to take the lead in electrification and optimise profitability by strengthening the global electric vehicle production infrastructure, establishing a flexible business strategy to adapt to market changes, and strengthening proactive risk management capabilities.”
Kia said in a statement that the company sold 3.09 million vehicles worldwide in 2023, setting a new global annual sales record. Kia’s previous best annual performance was in 2014, when it sold 3.04 million vehicles.
Hyundai aims to increase annual global sales by 0.6% to 4.24 million vehicles this year, while Kia has set its sales target at 3.2 million vehicles, up about 4% from last year.
Analysts said both companies’ sales targets for this year appear achievable, but economic issues such as high interest rates and increased incentives could have an impact on car-buying demand and profitability.
“Also, Hyundai seems to have a more conservative target than Kia. Kia plans to launch new electric vehicles this year, but we still need to consider the slowdown in global electric vehicle sales growth,” said Kiwoom Securities analyst Shin Yoon-chul .
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung stressed customer satisfaction in his New Year’s address on Jan. 3 and called for a “readiness”-led corporate culture to make quick decisions.
“The best strategy is to earn the full trust of our customers, not to quickly follow our competitors…In order to turn these external challenges into opportunities and achieve long-term sustainable growth, we must be ready at all times,” Chung said in his speech.
