Seoul, Aug 10: South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group ranked second globally in operating profit during the first half of this year, surpassing Germany's Volkswagen Group, industry data showed on Sunday.

The combined operating profit of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. totaled 13.01 trillion won (US$9.35 billion) for the January-June period, reports Yonhap news agency.

By comparison, Volkswagen Group, the world's second-largest automaker by sales volume, recorded an operating profit of 6.7 billion euros (10.86 trillion won) during the same period.

It was the first time Hyundai Motor Group has outperformed Volkswagen Group in operating profit on a half-year basis.

Hyundai, currently ranked third globally in sales volume, is believed to have narrowed the gap with Volkswagen on the back of its swift response to market disruptions amid U.S. tariff measures, such as inventory adjustments and production management.

"Although Hyundai Motor Group saw its first-half operating profit fell by more than 10 percent, it performed relatively well compared with competitors like Toyota Group, which faced over 4 trillion won in tariff-related costs," an industry official said. Toyota Group retained the top position globally in both sales and operating profit.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Rotem, the rolling stock unit of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group, said it has delivered the first batch of trams to the city of Edmonton in Canada under a 2021 supply deal.

The initial batch is part of a 218.8 billion-won (US$157.3 million) contract signed in 2021 to provide trams for Edmonton's Valley Line West light rail project. The delivered unit will undergo around 2,000 kilometers of trial runs before entering official service.

Hyundai Rotem plans to deliver all vehicles under the contract sequentially through 2027.

The trams are equipped with advanced temperature control systems capable of maintaining comfortable interior conditions even in temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees Celsius.

(IANS)

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