Hyundai Motor to Review All Expenditures from Scratch... SDV and Robot Development Proceeding as Planned (Comprehensive)

Strengthening Contingency Planning and SDV Pace Car Validation in the Second Half

Revenue Reaches 45.94 Trillion Won, Operating Profit at 2.51 Trillion Won

Record Quarterly HEV Sales Share Achieves 17.8%

Hyundai Motor Company plans to launch a range of highly competitive new vehicles this year, starting with a facelifted Grandeur. The company will also actively strengthen its contingency plan, conducting a comprehensive review of all spending procedures to offset factors impacting profitability.

In relation to its future mobility business, Hyundai will validate its Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) pace car (demonstration vehicle) in the second half of this year and is scheduled to open the Robot Meta-Plant Application Center in the third quarter.

During its first-quarter earnings conference call on April 23, Hyundai stated, "The SDV pace car is scheduled to undergo on-road technology validation in the second half of 2026, as originally planned. Since President Park Minwoo’s appointment, the overall direction for SDV development has been established, and a comprehensive internal review is currently underway."

The company added, "The Robot Meta-Plant Application Center is set to open in the third quarter, and the plan to build a plant with a capacity of 30,000 units by 2028 is also proceeding as previously announced. Full-scale commercialization and deployment are expected to take place over the second half of this year and into next year, so more time is needed."

Regarding the disruption in engine valve production following the fire at the Daejeon Safety Industrial facility, the company stated, "It is true that there are currently some production disruptions. We are developing alternatives and conducting internal testing, with plans to implement them as quickly as possible."

Hyundai further explained, "Although there are some differences by engine type, some production lines are expected to be normalized within April. While we cannot specify the exact number of units at this time, our basic policy is to recover as much of the production shortfall as possible in the second half of the year and to produce additional units at other global plants, thereby eliminating any global production disruption."

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In the first quarter, Hyundai recorded its highest-ever sales revenue, driven by strong hybrid vehicle sales. However, operating profit fell 30% year-on-year due to an 860 billion won expense from U.S. tariffs and an approximately 200 billion won increase in raw material costs resulting from the Middle East war.

Operating profit for the first quarter was 2.5147 trillion won, a 30.8% decrease compared to the same period last year. This decline is attributed to weakened profitability in the core U.S. market due to tariffs. Sales revenue reached a record high of 45.9389 trillion won, bolstered by robust sales of high-value-added models such as hybrids.

Despite increased incentives and investment expansion, the operating profit margin stood at 5.5%, supported by a strengthened contingency plan and favorable exchange rate effects.

Wholesale sales in the first quarter totaled 976,219 units, down 2.5% year-on-year. In Korea, sales fell 4.4% to 159,066 units due to pent-up demand for new models. Hyundai plans to introduce a range of highly competitive new vehicles this year, starting with the Grandeur facelift.

Overseas sales in the core U.S. market increased 0.3% year-on-year to 243,572 units, but total overseas sales fell 2.1% year-on-year to 817,153 units due to the overall deterioration of market conditions.

Global sales of eco-friendly vehicles (including commercial vehicles) reached 242,612 units, with electric vehicles (EVs) accounting for 58,788 units and hybrid vehicles (HEVs) for 173,977 units, representing a 14.2% increase year-on-year. Notably, quarterly HEV sales reached an all-time high. The share of eco-friendly vehicles and HEVs in total global sales also reached record quarterly highs at 24.9% and 17.8%, respectively.

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