KB News Desk
Automaker eyes hydrogen expansion as BYD overtakes it in first-half vehicle sales
Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun said the automaker still has significant progress to make in Brazil despite being on track to sell more than 200,000 vehicles there for a third straight year, as the group unveiled plans to expand its business in the South American country.
“There is still a long way to go,” Chung told reporters Tuesday at a Korea-Brazil business roundtable held in Sao Paulo, when asked about Hyundai’s sales prospects in Brazil. “Chinese companies are also pushing hard these days.”
Chung was among the business executives who attended the roundtable held on the occasion of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to Brazil. The event brought together government officials and business leaders from both countries to discuss cooperation in manufacturing, energy, technology and supply chains.
Chung’s measured outlook comes as Hyundai faces a rapidly changing competitive landscape in Brazil. The South Korean carmaker sold more than 200,000 vehicles in the country in both 2024 and 2025, according to data from Brazil’s automotive dealer association Fenabrave.
Hyundai sold 96,723 vehicles during the first half of this year. Meanwhile, Chinese electric vehicle makers sold 99,028 units during the same period, overtaking Hyundai to become Brazil’s fourth-largest automotive brand by sales.
BYD has been expanding aggressively in the market with affordable pricing and technology-focused electric and hybrid vehicles. The Chinese EV maker began producing vehicles at its facility in Camacari, Bahia state, in 2025, on a site previously occupied by Ford.
Hyundai has operated its own manufacturing plant in Piracicaba, Sao Paulo since 2012. It’s the company’s first and only complete vehicle manufacturing plant in South America. The plant produces two locally developed models, the HB20 compact and the Creta SUV, and has a production capacity of 220,000 cars per year.
Beyond passenger cars, Hyundai is now seeking to broaden its Brazilian operations. At Tuesday’s roundtable, the group proposed cooperation with Brazil in green hydrogen production, deployment of hydrogen-powered trucks and other energy technologies.
“Hyundai plans to pursue technical cooperation in areas such as green hydrogen production, introduction of hydrogen trucks and small modular reactors,” Kim Yong-beom, South Korea’s presidential chief of staff for policy, said as he briefed reporters on the business roundtable.
Potential areas of cooperation include hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles and trams, green hydrogen production and fuel-cell systems. The group also plans to strengthen hydrogen research partnership with Brazilian academic institutions, including the University of Sao Paulo, as part of efforts to secure long-term growth.
The initiative builds on Hyundai’s earlier commitment to invest more than $1.1 billion in Brazil by 2032. The investment plan, announced after Chung met Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia in 2024, focuses on technologies for hybrid, electric and green hydrogen-powered vehicles.
