Hyundai has overtaken Volkswagen and is number 2 in the world in profits, says the CEO

Jose Muñoz, CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, delivered a bombshell speech at the launch of Genesis Magma in France, declaring that the Korean automobile giant had overtaken Volkswagen Group to become the world’s second most profitable automaker.

While Toyota remains the undisputed king of global sales and profits, the battle for second place has been fierce.

Speaking to the media, Mr. Muñoz minced no words about the changing hierarchy in the automotive world.

“We’ve been the number three global OEM (by revenue) for several years in a row. And when you take profits into account, we’re actually number two.” said Mr. Muñoz.

“So we recently overtook Volkswagen.”

With Daily Sparkz you can save thousands on a new car. Click Here to get a great deal.

Mr. Muñoz attributed the rise in profitability to what he calls the “power of the group” – the vertical integration that allows Hyundai to control its own destiny in a way that other automakers cannot.

“One of the group’s most important success factors is what we call within the ‘Power of the Group’. The group consists of more than 50 different units that all work in coordination,” he said.

He pointed to the group’s ownership of Boston Dynamics (robotics) and Supernal (electric VTOLs) as examples of technology leadership, but the real cash cow remains the core business of the automotive industry.

While Mr. Muñoz acknowledged that profits had been “curtailed by tariffs” (likely referring to the complexity of the U.S. market), and pointed out that Hyundai had “lost around 30 percent year-on-year” on some metrics, while competitors had seen “70 percent or more profit losses.”