Hyundai Motor Group outperformed Volkswagen in operating profit in the first quarter of the year, achieving the highest operating profit margin among the world’s top five automakers, driven by robust sales of high-margin hybrid and recreational vehicles.
In the first quarter of this year, Hyundai Motor Group, which is ranked third in global car sales, surpassed Volkswagen Group, which is second, in terms of operating profit. Moreover, Hyundai Motor Group achieved the highest operating profit margin (operating income divided by revenue) among the top five global automakers.
In the same period, the Hyundai Motor Group reported revenues of 66.8 trillion won ($48.7 billion) and an operating income of $5.1 billion. Despite Volkswagen Group’s revenue of 75.46 billion euros ($81.2 billion), which was nearly double that of Hyundai, it recorded an operating profit of $4.9 billion, falling behind Hyundai by several hundred billion won in operating income.
Hyundai Motor Group, a major player in the global automotive industry, couldn’t surpass Toyota Group in terms of operating income, and thus had to settle for the second position globally in operating profit. In the first quarter, Toyota Group reported a revenue of 1 trillion yen ($71 billion) and an operating profit of $7.1 billion.
However, when it comes to profitability, Hyundai Motor Group (10.4%) had the highest operating profit margin among the top five global car sellers. It outperformed Toyota Group (10%), Volkswagen Group (6.1%), Renault-Nissan Mitsubishi (4.3%), and GM Group (8.7%). Even though Hyundai’s operating profit margin was slightly lower than premium brands such as BMW (11.4%) and Mercedes-Benz (10.7%), it still marked one of the highest levels of profitability in the world.
Hyundai Motor Group’s strong performance was driven by increased sales of high-margin, cost-intensive hybrid and environmentally friendly vehicles, as well as RVs (recreational vehicles) such as the Sportage, Carnival, and Sorento. The sharp rise in the exchange rate of the Korean won against the dollar since last year also played a role.
