Kia Also Performed Well in Q3 This Year... Operating Profit Margin at 11%

Kia continued its strong performance by recording a double-digit operating profit margin in the third quarter of this year. Kia has maintained its record-high cumulative performance up to the third quarter. If it achieves a moderate level of performance in the fourth quarter, it will join Hyundai Motor in the annual '10 trillion KRW operating profit club.'

On the 27th, Kia announced that its third-quarter sales increased by 10% year-on-year to 25.5454 trillion KRW, and operating profit surged 273% to 2.8651 trillion KRW. The operating profit margin was 11.2%.

Global wholesale sales rose 3.5% year-on-year to 778,213 units. Domestic sales increased by 1.1% year-on-year to 134,251 units, while overseas sales grew 4% to 643,962 units.

Despite an overall decline in demand due to the end of the individual consumption tax reduction in the domestic market, sales slightly increased year-on-year thanks to strong performance of popular recreational vehicles (RVs) and the new Sorento model. Overseas, although sales decreased in some emerging markets such as China, India, and Russia, solid performance in advanced markets like North America and Europe sustained steady results.

Kia Q3 Regional Sales Proportion [Data=Kia]

Operating profit improved significantly despite increased costs such as incentives, due to increased sales volume, improved sales mix centered on high-margin RV models, price increases, stabilization of raw material prices at lower levels, and a base effect from the sales warranty provision recorded in the third quarter of last year.

Kia's third-quarter eco-friendly vehicle sales reached 149,000 units, up 21.2% year-on-year. The proportion of eco-friendly vehicles in total sales also approached 20%, recording 19.5%. Eco-friendly vehicles were mainly sold in domestic (33%), European (40%), and U.S. (16%) markets.

Kia forecasted that uncertainty will remain high in the fourth quarter due to geopolitical risks occurring worldwide and weakened purchasing sentiment caused by high interest rates and inflation, but sales momentum centered on advanced markets is expected to continue.

Joo Woo-jung, head of Kia's Finance Division, said, "Although there are some setbacks in sales plans in China, Russia, and India up to the third quarter, these are offset by strong performance in advanced markets such as the U.S. and Europe," adding, "We believe the guidance set at the beginning of the year can be achieved smoothly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.