Hyundai Motor Group has announced a raft of executive changes to close out 2024, including the appointment of the company’s first ever non-Korean CEO.
José Muñoz has been appointed President and CEO of Hyundai effective January 1, 2025. He has previously held the position of Chief Performance Officer and Head of North America and China operations for Nissan.
Muñoz joined Hyundai Motor Company in 2019 as President and Global Chief Operating Officer and President and CEO of Hyundai and Genesis Motor North America.
Current CEO Jaehoon Chang has been promoted to Vice Chair of Hyundai Motor Group – Automotive Division, effective January 1, 2025.
Chang has held the CEO role since 2020 and will now oversee the company’s entire value chain including product planning, supply chain management manufacturing and quality assessment.
Sung Kim has been appointed as President of Hyundai Motor Company in large part to his expertise of East Asian and Korean Peninsula Affairs in the United States.
Kim has held roles in successive Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden administrations and joined Hyundai in an advisory role earlier this year.
CEO of Hyundai’s logistics company, Hyundai Glovis, Kyoo Bok Lee has been promoted from CEO to President after successfully overseeing key facility expansion across its operations.
Finally, Jun Young Choi has been promoted to President of Kia Corporation from Head of Domestic Product and Chief Safety Officer.
Hyundai is currently a small player in the Australian heavy vehicle OEM landscape. According to recent T-Mark data released from the Truck Industry Council there have been 319 Hyundai trucks sold in between January and November this year.
It is currently the 13th most sold truck in Australia in 2024 ahead of the likes of Western Star, MAN and Freightliner.
120 of the manufacturer’s trucks sold this year are classified as medium-duty, while 199 are light-duty.
The appointment of Muñoz as new CEO is expected to “enhance the company’s global management systems and further elevate its status as a leading global brand”.
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