Hyundai, Kia win top export awards

By Lee Min-hyung

• Published Dec 5, 2023 4:35 PM KST
• Updated Dec 6, 2023 2:00 PM KST

Hyundai Motor and Kia won the prestigious Export Tower award here after clinching record exports of $30 billion (39.34 trillion won) and $20 billion, respectively, over a year-long period from the latter half of last year, the two carmakers said Tuesday.

They were recognized for setting the export records and contributing to the national economy amid prolonged macroeconomic uncertainties here and abroad.

A group of 1,700 companies were given the Export Tower awards from the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), and the two carmakers came in first and second in terms of the amount of exports.

This marks the first time in 11 years since Hyundai Motor and Kia won the awards for achieving exports of $20 billion and $15 billion, respectively, in 2012.

According to Hyundai, its exports came in at $31 billion between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023. This is an increase of 29.6 percent from the previous year. Kia also attained exports of $23.5 billion during the same period, up 30.7 percent from a year earlier.

The achievement is significant in that the global economy was faced with a string of risk factors, triggered by geopolitical conflicts, escalating protectionism and economic doldrums here and abroad.

However the two firms said they were able to tackle the unfavorable market circumstances by enhancing their product mix with a focus on launching more competitive electric vehicles (EVs). They also placed their management focus on widening global sales.

By region, they have reported outstanding sales growth, particularly in Europe. Hyundai Motor was able to attain EV sales growth of 9.7 percent in Europe last year from a year earlier, driven by growing popularity of its flagship IONIQ 5 EV there.

In the United States, Hyundai Motor Group’s Genesis luxury brand set sales records for two consecutive years between 2021 and 2022.