By Hyunjoo Jin
SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co and affiliate Kia Corp aim to grow their combined global sales by 2% to 7.39 million vehicles in 2025, after reporting a dip in 2024 sales and missing their targets.
The automakers, which together rank third in global vehicle sales, sold 7.23 million vehicles in 2024, slipping 1% from 2023 as solid U.S. sales were offset by sluggish demand in Europe and their home market.
The two carmakers are bracing for the slowing economy and political uncertainties in the United States and South Korea that threaten to dampen demand.
South Korea’s consumer sentiment dropped the most since the 2020 pandemic in December, hit by political uncertainty following President Yoon Su Yeol’s declaration of a martial law and his impeachment.
In the United States, President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose universal 10% tariffs on imported goods.
Hyundai Motor has started production at its new factory in the U.S. state of Georgia last year, to make its vehicles eligible for the Biden administration’s tax credits, which Trump threatened to scrap.
The carmakers did not say how they aimed to increase their sales and Hanwha Investment & Securities analyst Kim Sung-rae said it may be challenging to achieve the target given macroeconomic uncertainties in Europe and emerging markets.
Hyundai and Kia also face increasing competition from Japan’s Honda and Nissan, which are in talks to create the world’s third-largest auto group by 2026.
(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Tomasz Janowski)
