THE KOREA ECONOMIC DAILY, GLOBAL EDITION

Akio Toyoda, chairman of Japan’s top automaker Toyota Motor Corp., will fly to Seoul in late October to meet with Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun and discuss business cooperation, including on hydrogen vehicles, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

The Toyota chief’s Seoul trip, his first since January 2012, comes at the invitation of Chung, head of Hyundai, South Korea’s top automaking group, which encompasses Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp.

"Chairman Chung expressed his desire to meet with Chairman Toyoda earlier this year, and Toyoda accepted it,” said a diplomatic source who requested anonymity.

According to multiple sources, Toyota Korea is fine-tuning detailed schedules for Chairman Toyoda’s trip to Seoul.

They said he is likely to arrive in Seoul on Oct. 24 for a three-day trip, and a closed meeting with the Hyundai Motor chief will likely be scheduled for Oct. 25.

During the Toyoda-Chung meeting, the two business leaders are expected to discuss ways to tighten their cooperation in hydrogen vehicle development and the joint establishment of a hydrogen ecosystem, sources said.

Japan’s Toyota is the world’s biggest vehicle seller and Hyundai’s two automaking units together rank third in terms of volume.

The two companies have fiercely competed to gain a greater share of the future mobility sector, including electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell EVs (FCEVs).

In Seoul, the two leaders are expected to declare a business strategy shift from competition to collaboration, sources said.

THINGS IN COMMON

Toyota Motor Group ranked top with 11.23 million vehicle sales in 2023, followed by Volkswagen with 9.24 million units and Hyundai Motor Group with 7.3 million units.

Analysts said Toyota and Hyundai have followed similar business strategies.

The two automakers have seen their sales rise to record highs, driven by hybrid vehicles, and are expanding investments in EVs and view hydrogen vehicles as integral to future mobility.

Through a closer partnership, Hyundai aims to learn from Toyota’s innovative strategies in hybrid car development and production while Toyota aims to gain insights from Hyundai’s successful transition from a gasoline vehicle maker to an EV leader, sources said.

The two companies, in particular, plan to shift to collaboration in the hydrogen vehicle sector, joining forces to build clean hydrogen production and distribution infrastructure.

INVESTMENTS IN HYDROGEN PROJECTS

Hyundai Motor Group is considered one of the most active automakers in developing hydrogen vehicles and the hydrogen ecosystem, with its planned investment of 11.1 trillion won ($8.3 billion) in hydrogen cars and fuel cells by 2030.

In June, Hyundai Chief Executive Chang Jae-hoon became chairman of the Hydrogen Committee, a gathering of 140 companies around the world.

Toyota recently formed a hydrogen alliance with Germany’s BMW Group, showing great interest in hydrogen vehicles as the automotive industry game changer.

The chiefs of Toyota and Hyundai are also expected to discuss other future mobility projects such as autonomous vehicles and advanced air mobility (AAM).

RECORD SALES, PROFITS

Last year, Toyota posted an operating profit of 5.35 trillion yen ($36.5 billion) on sales of 45.1 trillion yen. Its operating profit margin of 11.9% was the highest among global carmakers.

Hyundai Motor and Kia together posted a combined operating profit of 26.73 trillion won on sales of 262.47 trillion won in 2023. Their combined profit margin was 10.2%.

The strong sales of the two companies were driven by hybrid vehicles.

Toyota sold 3.44 million hybrids last year, accounting for 30.6% of its total sales. Hyundai Motor and Kia’s hybrid sales reached 840,483 units, accounting for 11.5% of their total sales.

During the recent CEO Investor Day, Hyundai and Kia said their annual hybrid vehicle sales will reach 1.33 million and 800,000 units by 2028.

Meanwhile, Toyota is investing heavily in EVs. In May, the Japanese automaker said it would invest 5 trillion yen in EVs by 2030, with its annual sales target of 3.5 million EVs by then.

BETTING ON HYDROGEN ECOSYSTEM

According to market research firm SNE Research, hydrogen vehicles sold 5,621 units globally in the first half, down 34% from 8,524 units a year earlier.

Hyundai sold 1,836 units of its NEXO hydrogen FCEV in the first half while Toyota sold 1,284 units of its Mirai hydrogen sedan.

Analysts said the lack of new FCEV models and insufficient hydrogen charging stations are hampering rapid hydrogen-powered vehicle sales growth.

Earlier this year, Akio Toyoda said battery EVs will eventually account for about 30% of the global vehicle market while hybrids and hydrogen FCEVs will take up the rest.

Toyota said last month it will build a hydrogen fuel cell facility with a 44,000-cubic-meter production capacity in Beijing.

Hyundai Motor said it plans to build a hydrogen innovation center at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Chennai campus.

Write to Jin-Won Kim and Jae-Fu Kim at jin1@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.