Kia Corp. has turned its Chinese operations profitable for the first time since 2016, posting a 50.6 billion won ($35 million) operating profit in 2024 after seven consecutive years of losses.
The South Korean automaker’s return to profitability comes despite continued weak domestic sales in China, where it sold just 79,446 vehicles in 2024, down 5.3% from the previous year. Instead, the company’s strategic pivot to using China as an export hub has driven the turnaround.
Kia exported 140,724 vehicles from its Chinese plant last year—quadrupling its export volume in just two years. The company has expanded its reach by shipping vehicles to multiple regions, including 54,117 units to the Middle East and 44,680 to Latin America.
The automaker’s Chinese operations had been struggling since 2017, when sales plummeted following South Korea’s deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system, which sparked anti-Korean sentiment in China. At its peak in 2016, Kia had sold 650,000 vehicles in China with an operating profit of 414.8 billion won.
To revitalize domestic Chinese sales, Kia is focusing on its KX3 compact SUV (known as Seltos in other markets) and the new EV5 electric vehicle. The EV5, which uses cost-effective lithium iron phosphate batteries, sold 5,705 units in China last year.
