Hyundai Appoints Current COO Jose Munoz As New CEO

Spanish-American José Muñoz (59) has been COO (Chief Operating Officer) and CEO of Hyundai and Genesis in North America since 2019. In 2022, he was given additional responsibilities in Europe and the Middle East, among other places, and now it is time for the next and highest step: that of CEO of Hyundai Motor Company worldwide. That step will be made official on January 1 and means that the current CEO, Jaehoon Chang, will leave the post. In the words of the press release, he will be ‘promoted to vice chairman’, although we do not know whether he himself experiences it that way.

Hyundai praises Muñoz for the big steps in profitability he has already delivered to the company and says he is the right person to lead Hyundai through these turbulent automotive times. As an example of his capabilities, it cites the U.S. sales figures of Hyundai and Genesis: in 2023, those brands sold 870,370 cars together, compared to 677,944 before Muñoz arrived.

Before joining Hyundai, Muñoz worked for Nissan, where he was responsible for the Chinese division, among other things.

• Also See: Hyundai Motor Reaches Global Production Of 100 Million Cars – A Milestone Achieved In 57 Years