By Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee
SEOUL (Reuters) -Hyundai Motor said on Wednesday it was targeting annual global sales of 5.55 million vehicles by 2030, up 30% from 2023, as it plans to double its hybrid lineup to counter a slowdown in global electric vehicle demand.
Hyundai, the world’s No. 3 automaker by sales along with affiliate Kia Corp, also said it would buy back up to 4 trillion won ($2.99 billion) of stock between 2025 and 2027 and boost its dividends significantly as it laid out its medium- to long-term strategy at an investor day.
Shares surged as much as 5% after the announcement, having traded flat beforehand, with analysts saying its new shareholder return policy was higher than anticipated. They closed up 4.7%.
The South Korean automaker said it planned to expand its hybrid lineup to 14 models from seven as it expected a surge in hybrid demand, especially in North America. It did not provide a timeline for the release of the new cars.
“Recently, the speed of conversion to electric vehicles has been slowing. As a result, demand for hybrids is increasing, and hybrids are becoming a basic option rather than an alternative to internal combustion engines,” said Hyundai Motor President and CEO Jaehoon Chang.
The company also said it aimed to introduce extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) models in North America and China, and planned mass production of new EREVs in the regions by end-2026.
MORE HYBRIDS
Hyundai and other automakers are reworking their strategies as global EV demand growth slows.
Ford Motor and General Motors have delayed or cancelled new EVs to avoid spending heavily on models that consumers are not buying as quickly as anticipated.
Hyundai’s shift to focus more on hybrid vehicles, which combine an electric motor with a gasoline engine, is in line with moves by rivals Toyota and Ford.
The South Korean automaker said it planned to produce hybrid vehicles at its new Georgia, U.S. factory along with EVs.
Hyundai said last month that the profitability of its hybrid models was similar to that of gasoline cars, highlighting the segment’s growing contribution to its bottom line. Its sales of pure EVs dropped by nearly 25% in the second quarter this year from the same period of 2023.
The automaker said on Wednesday it would seek to pay quarterly dividends of 2,500 won per share between 2025 to 2027, up 25% from previous levels.
It also announced the commercialisation of an autonomous driving vehicle foundry business that will sell autonomous vehicles to various global software companies.
($1 = 1,338.1300 won)
(Reporting by Heekyong Yang, Joyce Lee and Ju-min Park; Editing by Jamie Freed, Tom Hogue and Sharon Singleton)
