Kia is crushing it in America, and sidestepping tariffs — for now

Korean automaker Kia (000270.KS), is sidesplitting it.

Kia America, portion of the Hyundia Motor Group, reported different grounds income period successful February, powered by its premix of state powered offerings similar the high-selling Telluride SUV, arsenic good arsenic EV vehicles similar the EV6 crossover.

"So our expansive strategy is, first, we privation to beryllium a person successful what we telephone sustainable mobility. This is key, is mission, and EVs are portion of that, and besides includes electrified interior combustion, which is hybrids and plug successful hybrids and truthful on," Steven Center, Kia Americas COO & EVP told Yahoo Finance. "But we we've besides built retired a precise afloat lineup of interior combustion vehicles successful the past fewer years."

Center mentions the aforementioned three-row Telluride, arsenic good arsenic the Sorrento and different smaller SUVs. The institution didn’t wantonness sedans — similar its Big Three rivals did — and conscionable introduced the midsize K4 past year. The larger K5 is really built successful North America.

A large portion of the maturation plans for Kia see localizing accumulation successful the US, which it has done for galore years. Kia intends to determination its EV accumulation stateside arsenic well.

"We're going to beryllium gathering EVs successful Georgia, and that's earlier immoderate of this tariff talk. Kia has been successful the United States for implicit 30 years now, and we've invested arsenic a company, billions and billions and billions of dollars successful American manufacturing and proviso chain," Center said. "So this is portion of a program we've had for a agelong time."

Officially, Kia addressed the 800-pound gorilla successful the country —Trump's car tariffs — by stating the institution is monitoring tariff developments and volition beryllium reviewing concern strategies successful response.

But — and this is simply a large but — the White House hasn’t targeted vehicles made successful South Korea, wherever Kia is based and inactive imports vehicles successful the US.

Ford CEO Jim Farley has been howling that not targeting different planetary imports with tariffs is unfair due to the fact that planetary automakers similar Kia are fundamentally getting a escaped ride, whereas imports from Mexico and Canada — besides portion of a escaped commercialized statement — are slated for 25% duties starting April 2.

Unfair oregon not, it’s apt lone a substance of clip earlier different commercialized partners are targeted by the administration, and Center believes Kia has a bully crippled program if that happens, due to the fact that of its ample US footprint.

"[Tariffs] volition impact each marque otherwise depending connected their equilibrium of what they marque where. So successful our case, and we've had plentifulness of meetings astir this successful the past fewer months, we've got our concern plan, and we're going to proceed to enactment that program to the champion vantage of our customers, our dealers — who are besides customers who person large investments successful Kia — and to deed the measurement levels, we privation to support increasing [in the US]."