Sales and Operating Profit Hit New Highs
Hyundai Motor Co. posted the best performance of all time in 2022 even after setting aside trillions of won in provisioning for quality costs. The company expanded its presence in Korea and overseas markets, with the sales focus put on high value-added models.
Hyundai Motor announced in a business performance conference call on Jan. 26 that its annual sales and operating profit in 2022 came in at 142.5275 trillion won and 9.8198 trillion won, respectively, up 21.2 percent and 47 percent from the previous year. Both sales and operating profit hit all-time highs.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the Korean automaker’s operating profit growth rate exceeded 100 percent. It recorded 38,523.6 billion won in sales and 3,359.2 billion won in operating profit, up 24.2 percent and 119.6 percent, respectively, from 2021.
Hyundai Motor's global sales guidance for 2023 is 4.32 million units. It expects a consolidated sales revenue growth rate of 10.5-11.5 percent, a 10 percent increase from the previous year, and an operating margin of 6.5-7.5 percent.
Hyundai Motor will invest 10.5 trillion won this year to expand its portfolio of mass-produced models and build a new plant in the U.S. state of Georgia and secure future technology. The total breaks down into 4.2 trillion won for R&D investment, 5.6 trillion won for facility investment and 700 billion won for strategic investment.
Despite poor semiconductor and parts supply issues, Hyundai Motor plans to solidify its position as a “premium electric vehicle” brand through the promotion of sales in the electric vehicle market which grew rapidly in 2022. Hyundai Motor's global electric car sales target for 2023 is about 330,000 units, an increase of 54 percent from the previous year. Its strategy focuses on expanding its market share through the launch of new models such as the new Kona EV and the IONIQ 5 N model. Hyundai Motor plans to push up its sales share in the United States to 22 percent by launching the IONIQ 6 in the first quarter and the new Kona EV in the second half.
Regarding the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which is blocking subsidies for Hyundai cars made in Korea in the US market, Hyundai Motor plans to shorten its schedule as much as possible to enable early production in US factories. In particular, as leased vehicles are included in the IRA subsidy program, it plans to actively utilize lease programs in the United States in 2023.
Hyundai Motor plans to expand sales of electric vehicles by diversifying sales channels while inflating the proportion of leased cars from less than five percent in the United States to more than 30 percent. Of the 860,000 units targeted for sales in the US this year, it set the proportion of electric vehicles at nine percent.
In Europe, IONIQ 6 deliveries to customer will start in the first quarter of 2023. Hyundai Motor will start mass production of the new Kona EV and the IONIQ 5 N in the second half of 2023. This is based on a strategy to continuously improve Hyundai Motor’s image as a premium electric vehicle producer by promoting the expansion of its European electric vehicle market share.