US operations of Hyundai, Kia turn profitable in 2023

Hyundai Motor Group headquarters in southern Seoul (Hyundai Motor Group)

Major global offices of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia turned into the black last year as the South Korean automakers logged record-high earnings on surging sales across the world, according to their audit and business reports on Wednesday.

According to the audit report of Hyundai Motor Company, the automaker’s manufacturing plant in Alabama posted 236.3 billion won ($180 million) in net income in 2023, a drastic turnaround from the net loss of 808 billion in 2022.

Named Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama, the facility is the automaker’s first and only US manufacturing plant. The company announced a plan to invest $290 million into the US plant to expand the assembly lines of popular models. Hyundai Motor has so far invested about $3.4 billion into the Alabama plant.

The business report of Kia showed that its US manufacturing plant in Georgia logged 2.32 trillion won in net income in 2023 after it recorded 737.6 billion won in net loss in the previous year.

The two automakers’ dramatic turnaround came as their US offices both reported record-breaking annual sales last year. Hyundai Motor America sold 801,195 vehicles, an 11 percent increase compared with 2022 and the highest total sales ever for the Hyundai brand. Kia America sold 782,451 units, up 13 percent on year and 12 percent higher than the previous record set in 2021.

Coping with the rising demand in the US and expanding local manufacturing, Hyundai Motor Group is building what it calls its $5.54 billion Metaplant electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility in Georgia with the goal to start production in the fourth quarter of this year.

Hyundai Motor’s audit report also showed that its Indonesian manufacturing plant in West Java turned into the black last year with 81.7 billion won in net income while it posted 36.5 billion won in net loss in 2022.

The automaker quickly ramped up the operation rate of the Indonesian plant as it looked to expand its presence in the local market. According to the Indonesian Automotive Industry Association, Hyundai was the sixth-biggest auto brand in Indonesia last year as it logged 35,500 units sold.