BMW AG and Hyundai Motor Co. outperformed other domestic and foreign auto companies in terms of operating margin in the first half of 2012, an auto research institute reported on Wednesday.

According to the study conducted by the private Korea Automotive Research Institute, or KARI, German automaker BMW and Korean automaker Hyundai Motor vied closely with operating margins of 11.6 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively.

Kia Motors Corp., the nation’s second-largest carmaker, won third place with a 9.6 percent operating margin, followed by Volkswagen AG at 6.7 percent, General Motors at 5.2 percent and Toyota Motor Corp. at 4.2 percent.

The KARI report also said that Hyundai and Kia’s operating profit rose by 21 percent and 25 percent on-year, respectively, beating its U.S. and European counterparts, with the exception being Japanese firms which recovered rapidly from last year’s earthquake.

The on-year operating profit of GM and Renault Samsung fell drastically by 17.5 percent and 60.6 percent, respectively.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)