Three years on, Chung’s customer-centered innovative management has led to a spectacular performance. Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Corp. rose to the third position in combined global car sales from fifth in 2010.
At home, the two carmakers are the most profitable listed companies in terms of operating profit margins.
Hyundai's electrified IONIQ 5 Chung, 52, turned the COVID-19 pandemic into an opportunity.
Amid automotive chip shortages, Hyundai had developed some components in-house due to delayed shipments from parts suppliers. It maintained its production capacity and continued to operate factories at home and abroad, leading to significant post-pandemic sales growth.
The Korean automotive group has also narrowed the gap with first and second-ranked rivals Toyota and Volkswagen.
Both Hyundai and Kia’s global car sales shot up 61% to 3,657,563 units in the first half of this year, compared to the 2,272,075 units in the first half of 2020, before Chung took office later that year.
Those sales translated into 129.96 trillion won ($95.7 billion) in revenue in the first half of this year, nearly double the 73.11 trillion won in the first half of 2020.
Genesis electrified GV70 PREMIUM CAR SALES
Hyundai’s premium brand Genesis and sports utility vehicles have enhanced its profit margins.
During the same period, the group’s operating profit surged almost sevenfold to 14.11 trillion won from 2.04 trillion won.
Its operating profit margin of 10.9% is on par with that of Mercedes-Benz and Tesla.
RECORD-HIGH PROFITS
Hyundai Motor Group is forecast to report a combined operating profit of 26.62 trillion won ($20 billion) this year, its highest-ever profits, according to a consensus estimate of brokerage companies.
The estimated sales break down to 14.79 trillion won for Hyundai and 11.83 trillion won for Kia.
Kia EV6 FROM FAST FOLLOWER TO FIRST MOVER
In the era of electric vehicles, Hyundai is transforming into a first mover from a fast follower in the combustion engine vehicle market.
To lead the future vehicle market, it has developed an electric global modular platform (E-GMP) dedicated to top-selling EV models such as IONIQ 5 and IONIQ 6, as well as Kia EV6 and EV9.
Now it is evolving into a software-defined vehicle maker after new technology and future-oriented designs have placed Hyundai Motor Group in the top tier of future cars.
Chung Euisun walks with Spot, a four-legged robot Both Hyundai and Kia sold a combined 80,099 eco-friendly cars such as EVs in the US in the third quarter of this year, a 94% surge from the prior year. It marked their largest-ever sales of those vehicles for a single quarter.
The upbeat results dispelled concerns about the impact of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which only provides subsidies for EVs manufactured in North America.
Over the past three years, Hyundai Motor Group has expanded its horizons into robotics and advanced air mobility sectors.
Chung injected $176 million out of his own pocket in the deal.
An urban air mobility concept (Courtesy of Hyundai Motor) Chung has also brought change to the automotive group's corporate culture to emphasize horizontal communication and autonomy among employees.
