Hyundai humbles Japanese rivals

[rickaren]

Hyundai humbles Japanese rivals with record third quarter

Posted Thursday, Oct 22, 2009, 2:48 pm in Employee News

Hyundai Motor Co. beat forecasts with a record quarterly profit as government incentives fuelled strong sales of its cheap, fuel-efficient models, setting the bar impossibly high for its struggling Japanese rivals, Reuters reported.

Hyundai’s strong results, its second record quarter profit in a row and more than triple the year ago figure, come as the global industry struggles to emerge from its worst ever downturn, the news service said. Honda Motor Co. is the only major Japanese car maker expected to post an operating profit in the fiscal first half, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday.

But Hyundai has taken advantage of the turmoil, ramping up its marketing spend to gain market share and overtaking Ford Motor Co. to become the world’s fourth-largest automaker by sales in the first half of this year when combined with affiliate Kia Motor Corp, the story said. But Hyundai warned a firmer won, rising oil prices and higher interest rates might hit earnings in the months ahead and its shares were little moved, after a 50 percent surge in the third quarter, the article said. (Reuters)