Kia, the world’s No 3 automaker, together with affiliate Hyundai Motor, said its operating profit slumped 24% to ₩2.76 trillion in the second quarter (Q2), from a year earlier.

Kia increased US sales by 5% as consumers brought forward car purchases due to concerns that US tariffs would lead to higher vehicle prices.

It also had solid sales of its new Carnival hybrid sport utility vehicles in Q2.

While Kia and Hyundai import about two-thirds of their sales in the US market, making them more exposed to US tariffs than major rivals, Kia said today that it has not yet made detailed plans to raise prices, instead focusing on growing its US business.

“We believe that we will be able to use the difficult environment as a good opportunity to level up (our market share and sales), and that’s Kia’s strength,” Kia CFO Kim Seung-jun said during a conference call.

Samsung Securities analyst Esther Yim said Kia’s strategy to boost sales of hybrids, which are imported from South Korea, could weigh on its profit, but that could be in part offset by Kia’s efforts to limit the impact.

“To mitigate tariffs’ effects, Kia’s South Korean factories will divert some of its shipments from the US to other markets, such as Canada,” the carmaker said.

Kia also said its US factory in Georgia aims to shift some electric vehicle production to other vehicles like Sportage, Sorento and Telluride, as the US is set to end its EV subsidies at the end of September.

Kia shares were down 0.9%.