For the first time since 2001, Kia surpassed Hyundai in market value with new affordable EVs rolling out this year. Kia is now South Korea’s fifth most-valued stock at $31 billion (41.3 trillion won).
Kia surpasses Hyundai in market value
Hyundai, which saved Kia from bankruptcy in 1998, owns around a third of the South Korean automaker.
The Hyundai Motor Group was formed in 2000 after buying out Kia. In 2003, the first Hyundai Genesis arrived, and in 2015, the luxury brand became a standalone marque.
Kia’s stock is surging after announcing fourth-quarter earnings and 2024 guidance on January 25th. The plans include a KRW 500 billion ($376 million) share buyback plan and 3.2 million in sales (wholesale).
The automaker is targeting 3.4% operating profit growth and an operating profit ratio of 11.9% in 2024.
Despite a “difficult business environment” expected this year, Kia plans to keep the momentum up by launching new lower-cost EVs. Kia said it plans to “pursue sustainable growth by strengthening our leadership in the eco-friendly car market.”
Kia EV lineup from left to right: EV6, EV4, EV5, EV3, EV9 (Source: Kia)
Kia is launching price-competitive electric models, including the EV3, EV4, and EV5. The new low-cost EVs were revealed during Kia’s first EV day in October.
Affordable Kia EVs will charge up sales growth
Kia is in a good position to take advantage of the growing demand for affordable EVs, according to YongJin Jung, an analyst at Shinhan Securities.
Jung predicts Kia’s EV sales will grow another 50% this year to 270,000. As many rivals are pulling back EV guidance, 50% growth would make Kia a standout, Jung explained.
Kia EV5 electric SUV (Source: Kia)
Kia’s new “EVs for all” vision includes models priced from $30,000 to $80,000. The new EV3, EV4, and EV5 will be priced between $20,000 and $50,000.
Kia already launched the EV5, a compact electric SUV to rival Tesla’s Model Y, in China last November. Starting prices were even lower than expected at around $21,000 (149,800 yuan).
Kia EV4 concept (Source: Kia)
The EV3 and EV4 concepts were introduced for the first time. The EV3 is an electric crossover based on the flagship EV9 but in a compact package. It features a bold design with Kia’s “Opposites United” theme. The EV3’s interior provides ample space with ergonomic seats and mood lighting.
Meanwhile, the EV4 is an “entirely new type of EV sedan.” It includes a low nose, sleek silhouette, and roof spoiler for a sports car sedan feel.
Kia Ray EV (Source: Kia)
Kia also introduced its cheapest electric car yet, the new Ray EV, last summer in South Korea, starting at $20,000 (27.35 million won).
The new affordable EVs are a big reason why Kia topped Hyundai in market value. Kia sold 111,545 EVs in 2023, while Hyundai sold 158,110, according to data from BloombergNEF.
2024 Kia EV6 (Source: Kia)
In the US, Kia launched a new Light Long Range trim for the 2024 EV6. The new variant starts at $45,950 (excluding dest.) with up to 310 miles range. Kia’s base EV6 starts at $42,600 with up to 232 miles range.
Electrek’s Take
While many rivals, including Ford, GM, VW, and Toyota, are pulling back on EV initiatives, Kia (and Hyundai) are surging ahead.
Kia believes its new affordable EVs will help accelerate sales, and investors are clearly on board. Hyundai, including Kia, has already overtaken Ford and GM to become the second-largest EV maker in the US behind Tesla.
Kia will produce new electric models, including the EV3 and EV4, at the facility. Once complete, the plant will be able to build 150,000 EVs annually.
The new electric models will play a key role as Kia aims to sell one million EVs by 2026. By 2030, Kia looks to sell 1.6 million EVs with a full electric lineup.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks as workers react at U.S. Steel Corporation–Irvin Works in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, U.S., May 30, 2025.
Leah Millis | Reuters
U.S. Steel shares jumped on Monday after President Donald Trump approved its controversial merger with Japan’s Nippon Steel.
U.S. Steel shares were last up about 5% in premarket trading.
Trump issued an executive order on Friday that allowed U.S. Steel and Nippon to finalize their merger so long as they signed a national security agreement with the U.S. government. The companies said they signed the agreement with the government, completing the final hurdle for the deal.
U.S. Steel said the national security agreement includes a golden share for the U.S .government, without specifying what powers the government would wield with its share. Trump said on Thursday that the golden share gives the U.S. president “total control.”
Typically, golden shares allow the holder veto power over important decisions the company makes. Pennsylvania Sen. Dave McCormick told CNBC in May that the golden share will give the U.S. government control of several board seats and ensure production levels aren’t cut.
Trump has avoided calling the transaction a merger, describing the deal instead as a “partnership.” U.S. Steel confirmed in a regulatory filing Monday that the company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Steel North America.
“All regulatory approvals required for the completion of the Transaction have been received,” U.S. Steel said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. “The Transaction remains subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, and is expected to be completed promptly.”
Trails of Iranian ballistic missiles light up the night sky as seen from Gaza City during renewed missile strikes launched by Iran in retaliation against Israel on June 15, 2025.
Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images
Tehran will “pay the price” for its fresh missile onslaught against Israel, the Jewish state’s defense minister warned Monday, as markets braced for a fourth day of ramped-up conflict between the regional powers.
Fire exchanges have continued since Israel’s Friday attack against Iran, with Iranian media reporting Tehran’s latest strikes hit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, home to a major refinery. CNBC has reached out to operator Bazan for comment on the state of operations at the Haifa plant, amid reports of damage to Israel’s energy infrastructure.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said overnight it deployed “innovative methods” that “disrupted the enemy’s multi-layered defense systems, to the point that the Zionist air defense systems engaged in targeting each other,” according to a statement obtained by NBC News.
Israel has widely depended on its highly efficient Iron Dome missile defense system to fend off attacks throughout regional conflicts — but even it can be overwhelmed if a large number of projectiles are fired.
The fresh hostilities are front-of-mind for investors, who have been weighing the odds of further escalation in the conflict and spillover into the broader oil-rich Middle East, amid concerns over crude supplies and the key shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Oil prices retained the gains of recent days and at 09:19 a.m. London time, Ice Brent futures with August delivery were trading at $73.81 per barrel, down 0.57% from the previous trading session. The Nymex WTI contract with July expiry was at $72.7 per barrel, 0.38% lower.
Elsewhere, however, markets showed initial signs of shrugging off the latest hostilities early on Monday.
Spot prices for key safe-haven asset gold retreated early morning, down 0.42% to $3,417.83 per ounce after nearly notching a two-year-high earlier in the session, with U.S. gold futures also down 0.65% to $ 3,430.5
Tel Aviv share indices pointed higher, with the blue-chip TA-35 up 0.99% and the wider TA-125 up 1.33%.
Luis Costa, global head of EM sovereign credit at Citigroup Global Markets, signaled the muted reaction could be, in part, attributed to hopes of a brisk resolution to the conflict.
“So markets are obviously, you know, bearing in mind all potential scenarios. There are obviously potentially very bad scenarios in this story,” he told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Monday. “But there is still a way out in terms of, you know, a faster resolution and bringing Iran to the table, or a short continuation here, of a very surgical and intense strike by the Israeli army.”
U.S. response in focus
As of Monday morning, Israel’s national emergency service Magen David Adom reported four dead and 87 injured following rocket strikes at four sites in “central Israel,” reporting collapsed buildings, fire and people trapped under debris.
Accusing Tehran of targeting civilians in Israel to prevent the Israel Defense Forces from “continuing the attack that is collapsing its capabilities,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, a close longtime ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a Google-translated social media update that “the residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon.”
The IDF on Sunday said it had in turn “completed a wide-scale wave of strikes on numerous weapon production sites belonging to the Quds Force, the IRGC and the Iranian military, in Tehran.”
CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.
The U.S.’ response is now in focus, given its close support and arms provision to Israel, the unexpected cancellation of Washington’s latest nuclear deal talks with Iran, and President Donald Trump’s historically hard-hitting stance against Tehran during his first term.
Trump, who has been pushing Iran for a deal over its nuclear program, has weighed in on the conflict, opposing an Israeli proposal to kill Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to NBC News.
Discussions about the conflict are expected to take place during the ongoing meeting of the G7, encapsulating Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S., along with the European Union.
— CNBC’s Katrina Bishop contributed to this report.
A Tesla Model 3 got stuck on a train track and was hit, albeit slightly, by a train in Sinking Spring, PA. The driver claimed it was in “self-driving mode.”
According to the fire alerts in Berks County, a Tesla Model 3 drove around a train track barrier near South Hull Street and Columbia Avenue and got stuck in the tracks.
The driver was able to exit the vehicle, but a train hit the car, reportedly snapping off the side mirror.
The fire commissioner ordered to stop all train traffic as the emergency services worked to get the Model 3 off the tracks using a crane.
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Spitlers Garage & Towing, performed the recovery and shared a few pictures on Facebook:
The Tesla driver reportedly claimed that the vehicle was in “self-driving mode” leading up to getting stuck on the train tracks.
Tesla claims that all its vehicles built since 2016 will be capable of unsupervised self-driving with software updates; however, this has yet to occur.
Instead, Tesla has been selling a “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) package for up to $15,000 that requires the driver to constantly supervise the vehicle, with the driver remaining responsible for the car at all times.
Electrek’s Take
There have been instances of Tesla drivers engaging in reckless behavior and then attributing it to the Full Self-Driving (FSD) features.
I’m not saying it’s the case here, but it’s a possibility.
On the other side, I’ve seen FSD try to navigate around construction barriers. It’s possible that it tried to do that in this case, here and then got caught on the tracks.
We would need more data.
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