Hyundai Motor Group surpassed Volkswagen Group to become the world's second-largest automaker by operating profit, according to industry data on Thursday.
Car industry data showed Hyundai Motor Group sales were reported at 69.4 trillion won ($49.6 billion) and an operating profit of 6.5 trillion won in the third quarter.
According to reports by the Yonhap news agency, Hyundai Motor Group's sales for January to September this year totaled 208.9 trillion won, and its operating profit amount was recorded at 21.4 trillion won.
Hyundai Motor Group ranked second after Toyota Group in terms of operating profit for the period.
The Japanese car manufacturer reported 1.15 trillion yen, or $7.4 billion, of operating profit in the third quarter, and an operating profit of 32.4 trillion won in the January-September period.
The Volkswagen Group posted 4.3 trillion won of operating profit for the third quarter and 19.36 trillion won of operating profit in the first nine months.
It has been a pretty tough period lately for Volkswagen Group in the Chinese market. But many in the industry feel Hyundai Motor Group will consolidate its position at No. 2 spot in operating profit after Toyota Group for all of 2024.
Hyundai Motor Group will take some more time to become the world's No. 1 automobile group by sale volume ahead of Volkswagen Group.
Hyundai Motor Group sold 5.4 million units globally from January to September this year, maintaining the third position as the world's largest car maker. Toyota Group sold 7.18 million units and Volkswagen Group 6.5 million units.
"Operating profit, aside from sales volume, is a kind of important performance measure in the automobile industry," said automotive professor at Daelim University Kim Pil-soo. "Hyundai Motor Group is good considering that overall decline in vehicle demand is affected by what some refer to as the so-called EV chasm affecting the industry."
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