Gasgoo Munich-On Oct. 29, Hyundai reported a 5.5% year-on-year increase in third-quarter operating profit to 2.68 trillion won, lifting its operating margin by 0.5 percentage points to 5.9%. Favorable exchange rates, cost optimization, and a richer product mix driven by hybrid vehicle (HEV) sales fueled the gain.
Image credit: Hyundai
Even so, production bottlenecks dragged down volumes, pulling revenue down 3.4% to 45.11 trillion won. Stronger sales of high-end models — particularly hybrids — and a richer mix in key markets partially cushioned the blow from the overall volume decline.
Net income, including non-controlling interests, fell 24.2% to 1.93 trillion won.
Global wholesale sales totaled 920,710 units for the quarter, an 11.3% drop from a year earlier. Fewer working days due to holidays, compounded by strike-induced production disruptions, weighed on the result.
South Korea sales slumped 27.2% to 131,468 units, largely hit by the strikes, while overseas deliveries slipped 8% to 789,242 units. In the US, steady hybrid demand helped Hyundai keep its market share above 6% for a sixth consecutive quarter.
Electrified models accounted for 26.7% of global sales, up 2.4 percentage points from a year earlier. Hybrids alone claimed an 18.2% share — a 2.7-point increase — driving the broader mix improvement. HEV deliveries edged up 3.8% to 167,414 units.
Yet total electrified deliveries — spanning HEVs, pure EVs, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), and fuel-cell vehicles (FCEVs) — contracted 2.7% to 245,540 units. Pure EV sales fell harder, dropping 9.2% to 69,117 units.
Hyundai Lowers 2026 Full-Year Targets
Hyundai revised its 2026 guidance to reflect a shifting business landscape: softening global demand, production snags, and climbing raw-material costs.
The automaker trimmed its annual wholesale volume target from 4.16 million to 4 million units, and narrowed its consolidated operating margin outlook to a range of 5.5% to 6.5%, down from 6.3% to 7.3%. Hyundai pinned the margin downgrade on lower output pushing up fixed costs, compounded by pricier raw materials. Even so, it held its consolidated revenue growth forecast at 1.0% to 2.0%.
Separately, after reassessing investment priorities and timelines, Hyundai scaled back its automotive capital expenditure plan to 16 trillion won from 17.8 trillion won.
Hyundai stressed the move is a pragmatic recalibration to external headwinds — namely, accumulated production constraints and rising material costs — and doesn't signal any erosion in its underlying competitiveness or earnings power.
To navigate these headwinds, the company plans to ramp up output, broaden sales of fresh models like the all-new TUCSON and ELANTRA, and keep tightening its cost structure. Hyundai also intends to lean on a more diversified powertrain lineup and region-specific product mixes to stay agile as market conditions shift.
On the shareholder front, Hyundai held its quarterly dividend steady at 2,500 won per common share.
