On the 28th, HL Mando jumped more than 9% intraday on expectations that shipments of auto parts sold in North America will increase.
As of 9:44 a.m. that day, HL Mando was trading at 47,050 won on the Korea Exchange, up 3,950 won (9.16%) from the previous session. It also hit an intraday high of 47,800 won, setting a 1-year peak.
The stock's strength is seen as reflecting analysts' views that shipments of key parts supplied to U.S. automakers will start to increase in earnest from next year.
Lee Sang-su, an iM Securities researcher, said, "HL Mando invested about 250 billion won in capital expenditures (CAPEX) to expand its Mexico plant at the end of 2024, and thanks to this, shipments of the integrated brake system (IDB2) bound for North America will increase starting in 2026."
He added, "There are concerns about a slowdown in U.S. electric vehicle demand, but a compensation program is already in place in the event of project delays," and explained, "Because IDB2 goes not only into electric vehicles but also hybrid vehicles, even if EV demand eases, the risk can be reduced to some extent." He also said, "Supply of the rack electric power steering parts (REPS) to North American electric vehicle makers will increase as mass production of lower-priced models gets underway."
Growth in emerging markets such as China and India is also seen as lifting the stock. The researcher analyzed, "Although Hyundai Motor Group's market share in China has fallen sharply, HL Mando has local original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as key clients, and the proportion of electronic components has risen to as high as 60% to 70%." He added, "It also counts major OEMs in India, where auto consumer sentiment is recovering, as clients."
The development of actuators, components for Humanoid Robot use, was also cited as a positive. He said, "HL Mando is highly likely to design and assemble actuators in-house and supply them in the form of finished goods," adding that although there are other Robotics specialist companies under the group such as HL Robotics, HL Mando is expected to be at the center of commercializing actuators for humanoids."