Kia Targets Over 10 Percent Annual Sales Growth and Operating Margin in Three-Year Value Enhancement Plan
Kia Corp., South Korea's second-largest automaker, has announced a mid- to long-term value enhancement plan built around an average annual sales growth rate and an operating profit margin of more than 10 percent over the next three years. The plan also sets a return on equity above 15 percent for 2025–2027 and a total shareholder return rate of 30–35 percent in 2024, rising to 35 percent from 2025 to 2027, with eco-friendly vehicles, higher average selling prices, purpose-built vehicles (PBV) and software-defined vehicles (SDV) named as the strategic directions behind the targets.
A three-year framework for value enhancement
SEOUL, December 3, 2024 — Kia Corp. announced a mid- to long-term value enhancement plan that sets out the financial direction of the company for the next three years. The announcement was published on the company's corporate website at https://www.kia.com/.
At the centre of the plan stand two double-digit commitments: an average annual sales growth rate of more than 10 percent and an operating profit margin of more than 10 percent, both to be sustained across the three-year horizon of the programme. Together with the profitability and shareholder-return targets described below, these commitments define how Kia intends to strengthen its corporate value in the mid- to long-term perspective.
Financial targets of the plan
The value enhancement plan groups its quantitative commitments into three headline targets:
- an average annual sales growth rate of more than 10 percent over the next three years;
- an operating profit margin of more than 10 percent over the same three-year period;
- a return on equity (ROE) above 15 percent between 2025 and 2027.
The sales and margin targets are expressed as averages across the three-year horizon rather than as single-year goals, which frames the plan as a sustained trajectory of growth and profitability rather than a one-off result. The return on equity target covers the 2025–2027 window and sets a profitability level of more than 15 percent measured against shareholders' equity, extending the plan's commitments beyond operating performance into the returns generated on the capital base.
Shareholder returns through 2027
The plan complements its operating targets with an explicit shareholder-return path. Kia set a total shareholder return rate of 30–35 percent for 2024 and committed to a total shareholder return rate of 35 percent for the period from 2025 to 2027. The step from a 30–35 percent range in 2024 to a fixed 35 percent level for the following three years gives shareholders a defined return framework alongside the growth and margin targets of the programme.
Strategic priorities behind the targets
Kia identified the business directions that are expected to carry the financial commitments of the plan:
- expanding sales of eco-friendly vehicles;
- increasing average selling prices;
- growing new business areas involving purpose-built vehicles (PBV);
- growing new business areas involving software-defined vehicles (SDV).
The first priority, the expansion of eco-friendly vehicle sales, addresses the shift of demand towards electrified and low-emission models. The second, higher average selling prices, supports margin improvement across the vehicle portfolio. The third and fourth priorities place purpose-built vehicles (PBV) and software-defined vehicles (SDV) among the new business areas that Kia intends to grow as part of the plan, extending the company's activity beyond its conventional passenger-car operations and linking the product strategy directly to the three-year financial targets.
Company information
Company: Kia Corp.
Contacts: Kia Corporate Communications, Seoul; media contacts via https://www.kia.com/
Company website: https://www.kia.com/
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