Hyundai and Kia, which is 32.8% owned by the former, form the core of the Korean automotive manufacturing sector. Far bigger than the country’s other players – GM Korea, SsangYong and Samsung Motors – as well as major domestic plants, both brands have global production networks with manufacturing operations in China, the US, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, India and Brazil.

In recent years, Hyundai and Kia have suffered from a depressed local market and especially difficult conditions in China, India and Russia. Declining sales in these major markets have come on top of increased pressure to expand R&D in electric vehicles (EVs) and, crucially, accelerate the introduction of electric or electrified models. Such issues combine to make this an especially challenging time for both brands, but H1 2019 saw some signs of improvement and there is an expectation that this will continue into the second half of 2019. 

Although there has been some improvement in Hyundai’s financial performance so far in 2019, and despite more being anticipated in H2, global sales remain depressed: in the first eight months of the year, its global sales were 4.5% down, at 2.85m from 2.975m, while Kia’s volumes were down 1.9% at 1.81m from 1.84m. Although disappointing, these declining sales figures have also been accompanied by an improvement in Hyundai’s financial performance. This is attributed to a combination of factors…