Hyundai Motor Company climbed eight spots to become the 188th leading company in the world, and third among automakers, according to an annual list of the top 2000 leading global companies published by Forbes magazine. Hyundai has gained ground in the past two rankings, rising from 245 in 2008 and 196 in 2009. Ford Motor Company (58) and Honda Motor (86) are the only automakers ahead of Hyundai in the 2010 rankings.
According to the magazine, the Forbes Global 2000 are the biggest, most powerful listed companies in the world. The rankings are based on an equal weighting of sales, profits, assets and market value. In total, the Global 2000 companies account for $30 trillion in revenues, $1.4 trillion in profits, $124 trillion in assets and $31 trillion in market value.
Of the 51 South Korean-based companies on the list, Hyundai ranks fourth behind Samsung Electronics (55), Posco (137) and Shinhan Financial (187). Hyundai Heavy Industries (278) rounds out the top five companies in South Korea.