Hyundai Motor Group has achieved a historic milestone of surpassing Volkswagen Group for the first time in quarterly operating profit, rising to become the world’s second-most-profitable carmaker, according to data and industry officials Sunday.Hyundai Motor Group’s three carmaking affiliates — Hyundai Motor, Kia and Genesis — achieved a combined operating profit of 6.98 trillion won ($5.08 billion) in the first quarter.This slightly exceeds that of Volkswagen Group, which had an operating profit of around 6.78 trillion won during the same period.Toyota maintained its lead with a considerable margin of more than 2 trillion won compared with the runner-up. But Hyundai Motor outdid Toyota in operating profit margin.The figure for Hyundai Motor Group came in at 10.4 percent, topping the list among global carmakers. That of Toyota reached 10 percent, followed by General Motors and Volkswagen Group, which had operating profit margins of 8.7 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively, during the same period.The latest achievement was driven by Hyundai Motor Group’s diversified vehicle lineups and expanded sales for its profitable luxury vehicles.
“The sales portions of the group’s SUV lineup and Genesis-brand vehicles have increased, helping rev up its sales growth,” said Kim Sung-rae, an analyst at Hanwha Investment & Securities.The carmaker will keep improving its profitability by developing new small hybrid vehicles and manufacturing more hybrid cars by transforming part of its electric vehicle (EV)-dedicated manufacturing facility in North America, according to Kim.The carmaker recently shared its plan to produce hybrid cars at its Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia, which is scheduled to start operation in the fourth quarter of this year.The decision reflects the growing demand for hybrid vehicles as the global EV industry enters an early phase of chasm.The brokerage house revised Hyundai Motor’s target stock price to 290,000 won per share, maintaining its opinion of buying the shares.Other experts also shared optimistic outlooks on Hyundai Motor Group from a longer-term viewpoint, as the carmaker bets big on future mobility — such as EVs — and takes the technological lead in related sectors.“Hyundai Motor Group’s core strength lies in its complete vehicle portfolio — ranging from cars with internal combustion engines, EVs and even hydrogen-powered cars,” said Kim Pil-soo, an automotive technology professor at Daelim University College.“Hyundai Motor Group is de facto the only global carmaker that can mass-produce all of the vehicle segments at a decent level. In particular, Hyundai Motor’s technological prowess in EVs remains 온라인카지노 unmatched.”