Hyundai Motor President Jose Munoz presents the company’s mid- to long-term business strategy at the “2026 CEO Investor Day” held on the 26th at the Conrad Seoul hotel in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul. Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai Motor’s domestic sales fell 41.1% in August to an 11-year low, hurt by production disruptions from a union strike. Having narrowly wrapped up wage negotiations with the union, the automaker plans to engineer a second-half rebound by launching fully redesigned versions of steady sellers including the Avante and Tucson.
Hyundai Motor (005380) sold 288,574 vehicles globally in August, including 34,333 units at home and 254,241 units overseas, the company said on the 1st.
That marked a 14.2% decline from a year earlier. It was the first time global sales fell below 300,000 units since January 2022, when the company sold 282,656 vehicles, a gap of four years and seven months.
The sharp drop in domestic sales was the main driver. Hyundai Motor’s August sales at home plunged 41.1% from the same period a year earlier, the lowest on record since 2016, when the company began disclosing sales data.
It was the first time domestic sales came in below 40,000 units since February 2020, when the company sold 39,290 vehicles as the COVID-19 outbreak began, a gap of six years and six months. Kia (000270) sold 40,213 units at home last month, far ahead of Hyundai Motor.
The decline stemmed from production disruptions caused by the Hyundai Motor union’s first full-scale walkout in a decade. Management and the union clashed during this year’s wage negotiations over demands including a performance bonus equal to 30% of last year’s net profit and an extension of the retirement age. The union staged a total of 60 hours of strikes this year. Production was halted for 120 hours, and the industry estimates the resulting shortfall at about 55,000 vehicles.
In August alone, the union struck for a total of 30 hours and halted production for 60 hours. On the 21st of last month, it staged an eight-hour full walkout, its first in 10 years.
The exterior design of Hyundai Motor’s “The All-New Tucson.” Photo courtesy of Hyundai Motor
With wage negotiations concluded, Hyundai Motor plans to concentrate production on newly launched models such as the Grandeur and the Avante to make up for the strike-related shortfall. The union held a ratification vote on the tentative wage agreement the previous day, and it passed with 61.55% of those voting in favor.
This year’s tentative agreement includes a 100,000 won increase in monthly base pay, including seniority-based raises, a performance bonus of 400% plus 12.7 million won, 15 shares of stock, 500,000 won in welfare points and a 200,000 won increase in vacation allowances, effective from 2027. The union estimated the deal would deliver a total pay increase of 40.84 million won per member this year.
Hyundai Motor will roll out fully redesigned versions of core models one after another in the second half, starting with The New Grandeur and followed by the Avante and Tucson. The All-New Avante drew particular attention, with more than 10,000 units sold on the first day orders opened. The company will also launch the All-New Tucson, a fully redesigned sport utility vehicle arriving after six years, in the fourth quarter.
Management and the union agreed to use the deal as a springboard to focus on second-half production and new model launches, aiming to recover quickly from the strike. “August was affected by production disruptions from the strike and by customers holding off for new models,” a Hyundai Motor official said. “We will expand our market share on the back of recently launched models such as The New Grandeur and the All-New Avante.”
