Hyundai picks first foreign CEO in reshuffle as it braces for Trump

Hyundai Motor named Jose Munoz, US chief and global chief operating officer, as co-CEO on Friday, marking the rare appointment of a foreign national to a CEO post at a major South Korean conglomerate.

The reshuffle at the helm of the world's third-biggest carmaker by sales when combined with affiliate Kia comes as South Korean businesses that have invested heavily in the US brace for Donald Trump's second presidency.

Leadership change will "enhance global competitiveness" and help "better prepare for uncertainties in the global business environment", the carmaker said.

Hyundai Motor has three co-CEOs. Munoz will join Euisun Chung and Lee Dong-seok as well as Chang Jae-hoon, who will also become group vice chair overseeing the automotive division.

Sung Kim, a former US diplomat who was part of a team assisting president-elect Trump in his first term at a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was named president overseeing global external affairs.

Hyundai with Kia rank second in US sales of electric vehicles after Tesla. They are bracing for what could be huge impact from Trump's pledge to impose tariffs on imports and cut subsidies for EVs.

Trump has also floated the idea of imposing 200% tariffs on cars imported from Mexico, where Kia operates a production site.

Munoz, a Spanish native and US citizen, joined the carmaker in 2019 and was formerly CEO of Hyundai Motor America. He has been credited with Hyundai's increased commitment to electrification and growth in sales across multiple categories.

"Munoz is appointed as the first non-Korean CEO of Hyundai Motor. He is expected to enhance the company's global management systems and further elevate its stature as a leading global brand," the South Korean carmaker said.

"As CEO, Munoz will play a critical role in helping the company navigate potential challenges posed by a second Trump administration," said Kiwoom Securities analyst Shin Yoon-chul.

Hyundai has hired several former South Korean diplomats in recent years to its "global policy office" in a move widely seen as readying for policy uncertainty under a change in US administration.

It brought in Sung Kim as an adviser in January to "support Hyundai's response to global trade and policy and external networking".

Hyundai Motor has invested $12.6bn (R229.86bn) to produce EVs and battery cells in the US state of Georgia, its largest investment outside South Korea, spurred by incentives that came with the incumbent administration's push to shift more of the EV supply chain to the US and away from Asia.

However, Trump's transition team plans to end a $7,500 (R137,079) consumer tax credit for EV purchases as part of broader tax reform legislation, Reuters previously reported, citing sources.

Munoz was once considered a potential candidate to take the lead at Japan's Nissan Motor after the ouster of Carlos Ghosn.