KB Securities noted that Kia revealed its future investment strategy through its 'CEO Investor Day' held on the 9th. On that day, Kia announced its plans to expand hybrid vehicles, increase electric vehicle sales centered on Europe through purpose-built vehicles (PBV), and enter the North American pickup truck market. However, it was assessed that the announcement would not significantly impact the stock price.
Kia set a target of 4.19 million units for its annual sales by 2030, down 110,000 units from the previous year's target of 4.3 million. However, Kia decided to enhance its production capacity as it expects demand for hybrid vehicles to increase. The sales target for hybrid vehicles is set to rise from 573,000 units in 2025 to 1,074,000 units by 2030. To achieve this, Kia plans to bolster its production capacity to 310,000 units domestically and 150,000 units overseas, increasing its annual production from 480,000 units last year to 990,000 units by 2030.
Kia will also strengthen its PBV strategy aimed at the European market. The strategy is to maximize profitability, focusing on the light commercial vehicle (LCV) market. The LCV market generates a significant amount of post-sale revenue from finance, used cars, modifications, and after-sales service (AS) parts, making it a market capable of yielding long-term profitability. Kia is expected to internalize the LCV market and aim for a continuous increase in profitability through cumulative sales growth.
The North American market will be targeted with electric pickup trucks. Although pickup trucks are major vehicles in the United States, the electric vehicle ratio is only 3.7%.
Kang Seong-jin, a researcher at KB Securities, stated, "Entering the North American pickup truck market, which has never been ventured into, based on competitiveness in electric and hybrid vehicles seems to be a reasonable judgment."
There have also been assessments that the uncertainty regarding the constantly changing U.S. tariff policy is relatively low. Researcher Kang explained, "Kia has a high margin rate, which allows it to effectively respond to tariff impacts," adding, "Some American-made cars that were being exported to other regions may also be redirected to sales within the United States."