Hyundai Beats Q2 Forecasts Thanks to Strong U.S. Sales and Hybrid Demand
The brand's second-quarter revenue reached a record KRW 48.29 trillion (South Korean won), which translates to roughly $35.3 billion. This amounts to a year-on-year increase of 7.3%. However, the company's operating profit dropped by 15.8% year-on-year to KRW 3.6 trillion (approx. $2.62 billion); this just about beat estimates of KRW 3.5 trillion (approx. $2.55 billion).
Strong demand in the North American market, along with the popularity of hybrid models, helped Hyundai navigate a tough environment in Q2.
Between April and June 2025, Hyundai sold a total of 1,065,836 units globally, a 0.8% increase over the same period last year. Outside of Korea, sales were up by 0.7%, but North American sales growth stood out, rising by 3.3% over this period.
The Tucson, Sante Fe, and Elantra all performed strongly for the brand. Previously, we reported on strong first-half sales for Hyundai in the United States, boosted by a rise in electrified vehicle sales. Globally, sales of electrified Hyundais increased to over 262,000 units, an increase of 36.4%.
Hybrid sales in Q2 hit 168,703 units globally, a record figure that represents a 38.5% increase over the same period in 2024.
Operating profit was already down in Q2, but the current 25% tariff on Korean vehicles is expected to be felt more severely in the current quarter. That's because Hyundai Motor front-loaded shipments to reduce the blow of tariffs, but this inventory is now drying up, reports Reuters.
Instead of increasing prices like many other automakers, Hyundai absorbed the higher costs associated with tariffs, saying it will adjust prices of vehicles in the U.S. based on market conditions and competitors, rather than tariffs.
However, Hyundai is expected to soon find itself at a disadvantage when compared to Japanese automakers. Trump's new trade deal with Japan will reduce tariffs for brands like Toyota and Honda, giving them a competitive advantage.
Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Poll: 14% of Americans would consider supporting Elon Musk's America Party
In contrast, 55% say they would not consider supporting Musk's party. On July 4, Tesla CEO Elon Musk asked his followers on X — the social media platform he owns — whether he should 'create' something called the America Party to give them 'independence' from the country's 'two-party (some would say uniparty) system.' More than 1.2 million users responded to Musk's snap poll: 65% said yes; 35% said no. 'By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!' Musk vowed the following day. Since then, however, Musk hasn't taken any visible steps to deliver on his promise. A new Yahoo/YouGov survey — which captures a representative sample of the U.S. population, in contrast to informal social media polls — suggests possible challenges ahead: Just 14% of Americans say they would be open to 'supporting a third party created by Musk.' In contrast, 55% say they would not consider supporting Musk's party. Why Musk wants a new party The survey of 1,729 U.S. adults, which was conducted from July 24 to July 28, comes a little more than a month after Musk and President Trump had a public falling-out over Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' Trump claimed that Musk was 'upset' about 'losing his EV mandate' (the $7,500 federal tax credit that has made buying or leasing electric vehicles such as Teslas more attractive and affordable for consumers). Musk insisted he was concerned only with the legislation's effect on federal spending — namely, initial estimates that showed it would 'massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit ... and burden America citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt,' as he wrote on X. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk continued. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' When a revised version of Trump's bill passed the Senate in early July with a $3.3 trillion deficit projection, Musk unveiled his America Party idea. 'When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,' Musk wrote on X. 'Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.' People don't love the 2-party system Americans aren't opposed to having alternatives at the ballot box — in theory. The new Yahoo/YouGov poll finds that more of them approve (39%) than disapprove (28%) of the concept of creating a 'third major U.S. political party to compete with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party'; 33% say they are not sure. Naturally, the idea of creating a third party is more popular with Americans who already identify as independents (56%) than with those who identify as Democrats (34%) or Republicans (32%). But the two parties themselves aren't especially well liked either. Majorities see both unfavorably (55% for the GOP, 56% for the Dems) rather than favorably (38% for the GOP, 36% for the Dems). And when respondents are asked how well each major party represents their views, more than half say 'not very well' or 'not at all' for both the Democrats (51%) and the Republicans (52%). Yet the overlap between these two categories — individuals who say they don't like either party — is relatively small, which may pose difficulties for Musk. About a quarter (22%) have an unfavorable view of both the Republicans and the Democrats, and fewer (18%) say neither side represents their views 'very well' or 'at all.' Musk keeps getting less popular In the Yahoo/YouGov poll conducted immediately after Trump won reelection last November, Musk earned a net positive rating (49% favorable, 39% unfavorable). That made him the most popular of the eight incoming Trump Cabinet members and senior advisers respondents were asked to appraise. Yet by April 2025 — following several months as the leader of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — Musk's ratings had flipped to 39% favorable, 55% unfavorable. Today, he is further underwater (32% favorable, 59% unfavorable). Musk is currently seen in a negative light by a clear majority of Democrats (9% favorable, 88% unfavorable) and nearly two-thirds of independents (30% favorable, 64% unfavorable). He still gets a net positive rating from a majority of Republicans (59% favorable, 30% unfavorable), but their enthusiasm has cooled; while 52% of Republicans saw Musk 'very favorably' last November, only 17% now feel that way about him. Since March, the number of Americans who think Musk is 'mostly trying to help the country' has fallen from 36% to 23%, whereas the number who think he is 'mostly trying to help himself' has risen from 52% to 56%. The share of Republicans who think Musk is mostly trying to help the country, meanwhile, has declined by 30 points — from 73% to 43%. The proposed policy focus of Musk's America Party — stopping the federal government from 'bankrupting our country with waste & graft,' as he put it — isn't people's top priority either. Asked what they would want a 'third major political party' to 'focus mostly on,' 26% of Americans said 'cutting government spending.' Significantly more (46%) said 'other issues.' __________________ The Yahoo survey was conducted by YouGov using a nationally representative sample of 1,729 U.S. adults interviewed online from July 24 to July 28, 2025. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 election turnout and presidential vote, party identification and current voter registration status. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Party identification is weighted to the estimated distribution at the time of the election (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). Respondents were selected from YouGov's opt-in panel to be representative of all U.S. adults. The margin of error is approximately 3.1%.
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Detail still lacking ‘but Ireland would be worse off without EU-US deal'
A swathe of tariffs imposed on other nations show Ireland would be worse off if there was not an EU-US trade deal, the Irish deputy premier said. US president Donald Trump signed an executive order that sees tariffs of 15% or above imposed on trading partners including Brazil, Lesotho, Taiwan and Switzerland. The EU struck a trade deal with the US five days before Mr Trump said a 30% tariff would kick in for the bloc. The deal sees 15% tariffs on most EU goods including cars, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals entering the US. There are 'zero for zero' tariffs on a number of products including aircraft, some agricultural goods and certain chemicals – as well as EU purchases of US energy worth 750 billion dollars over three years. Simon Harris said on Friday after a meeting of the trade forum at Government Buildings that a lot of detail of the agreement still needs to be clarified as he defended the deal. 'Without a deal between the US and the EU, today would have seen 30% tariffs introduced by President Trump on the EU, and would also have seen very, very significant counter measures introduced by the EU to the tune of around 90 odd billion euro,' the Tanaiste said. 'There's absolutely no doubt that that would have been a moment of catastrophe in terms of our economic wellbeing as a country.' He added: 'We'd be in a very different and a much worse position I think if we were standing here today with no deal. 'You don't have to take my word for that, if you just see the executive order last night and all of the tariffs levelled in other countries, including countries that didn't have deals. 'They were generally much, much higher than the tariff rate for the European Union.' He said the EU tariff rate of 15% would come into effect from August 7. Tariffs on pharmaceuticals would remain at zero until the US administration concludes its Section 232 investigation, relating to imported goods of importance to national security, into the sector. Mr Harris said he was informed by Brussels that this is expected to conclude in around two weeks. Mr Harris also said 'there is too many variables' to yet know the effect of the tariff differential between Northern Ireland and Ireland. He said he spoke with Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, and the Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald who agreed on this. 'So to give you an example, at the moment butter in Ireland already has a tariff of around 16% on it, pre-existing. 'It's had 10% on top of that since President Trump's last round, so that's meant butter in Ireland had a tariff of 26%. Under the new EU deal, that will fall to 16%. 'Butter in the UK, if I can use that as a comparison, will actually probably end up with 16%, plus 10%, so 26%. 'I'm just using a pound of butter as an example here, but if you look at it, you know, at a headline rate, you'd say 'Well, there'd be lower tariff on butter in the UK than Ireland', and actually that's probably not the case. 'So we need to tease our way through this. But there is no doubt that there will be challenges that will have to be worked through.' He said: 'I suppose the last point I'd make is that this is a subset of businesses. It's really a subset of a subset, because this will obviously only affect businesses that are doing cross-border trade and exporting to the United States of America. So it's not to be in any way dismissive of that, but it will obviously only affect that proportion of the business community. 'Pharma is another example. I mean, the EU seems to have a commitment in writing to 15% or less, no more than 15% for pharma. 'The UK language is much more vague. It doesn't have a number beside it, so we'll need to see where that brings us in the weeks ahead.'
Newsweek
23 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump's Disapproval Rating Jumps: Honeymoon 'Has Gone'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump's second term "honeymoon" is over, a YouGov analyst has said in the wake of the latest polling, which revealed his disapproval rating has increased. According to the YouGov polling forBritish paper The Times, the proportion of people who disapprove of Trump's job performance has increased from 52 percent in April to 57 percent in July. Reacting to this polling, analyst for YouGov Mark Blumenthal said: "The honeymoon at the beginning has gone." Why It Matters In the first six months of his presidency, Trump's popularity as fluctuated. Voters have in particular raised concerns about the administration's handling of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's case, as well as Trump's tariffs policies and his impact on the economy more broadly. President Donald Trump listens during an event to sign an executive order restarting the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools, Thursday, July 31, 2025, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. President Donald Trump listens during an event to sign an executive order restarting the Presidential Fitness Test in public schools, Thursday, July 31, 2025, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin Maintaining broad support will be of key importance when voters head to the midterm elections in November 2026. What To Know The YouGov survey of 1,470 adults was conducted between July 18 and July 21. The margin of error was not provided. While 57 percent disapproved of Trump's performance, 39 percent approved. In April, the proportion of people who approved was 42 percent. It also found that 37 percent graded Trump's second term as excellent or good while 59 percent said it had been fair or poor so far. In addition, 63 percent of Americans said the U.S. was "out of control" and 24 percent disagreed with that premise. And 36 percent said Trump hasn't achieved anything this term, while 13 percent listed "arresting and deporting illegal immigrants" as his best achievement so far and 11 percent said it was "reducing border crossings." Polling by Civiqs released this week showed Trump's approval rating was negative in 13 of the 31 states he won in the November 2024 presidential election, Another survey conducted by Quantus Insights from July 21 to July 23 among 1,123 registered voters showed his approval rating stood at 47 percent, while 50 percent disapproved. However, other polls are more positive. One poll showed Trump gaining more traction with Hispanic voters, a key demographic that traditionally supports Democratic candidates. Another in July had the proportion of college-educated voters who approve of the president's job performance increase from June. What People Are Saying Speaking to Newsweek, Mark Shanahan who teaches American politics at the University of Surrey in the U.K, said: "Trump's second term has been less of a honeymoon, but more of a divorce from half the country: one where he's got to keep the house, the kids and just about all of the assets. From day one of his rule by Executive Order he has never sought to bring the USA together and, indeed, has exploited differences to highlight how he's delivering on his campaign commitments, not least through DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency], through his clampdown on immigration and through his America First foreign policy." "Public services are already beginning to creak thanks to the actions of Musk and his cohort, and tariffs are driving up prices at home, while the economic benefits of the One Big Beautiful act have yet to be felt. And around all this, the whiff of Epstein is tainting the president's achievements." Blumenthal said: "The honeymoon at the beginning has gone: inflation and jobs are still the leading issues and there is not a perception of anything improving. The survey suggests that Trump's two flagship economic initiatives—his tariffs and the One Big Beautiful Bill — are not perceived as helping the economy." What Happens Next Trump's approval rating will continue to fluctuate throughout his term in office as he implements his policy agenda. Whether it falls enough to impact the Republican Party in the November 2026 midterms remains to be seen.
