Hyundai Motor hits 100m vehicle milestone

Hyundai Motor Company marked the global cumulative production of 100 million cars Monday, a landmark record coming 57 years since the carmaker’s foundation.

The company held a celebratory event at the car manufacturing plant in Ulsan earlier in the day, joined by Lee Dong-suk, head of domestic sales and chief strategic officer at Hyundai Motor Group, and Moon Yong-moon, head of the company’s labor union. The executives and staff marked the production of the first car after passing the 100-million milestone, the flagship electric vehicle Ioniq 5, and delivered it to a customer.

Sources said that Hyundai Motor reached 100 million sales faster than any other global auto giant including Volkswagen, Toyota, General Motors and Ford Motor Company, which took almost 100 years.

The bestselling model from 1967 to August this year was the Avante sedan, known as the Elantra in global markets, which sold 15.37 million units. It was followed by the Accent sedan with 10.25 million units, the Sonata sedan with 9.48 million units, the Tucson sport utility vehicle with 9.36 million units and the Santa Fe SUV with 5.95 million units.

The company stressed that the Ulsan plant, which began operations in 1968, is the birthplace of the carmaker’s history as well as a major hub for electrification.

With the late founder Chung Ju-yung’s bold decision to develop Hyundai Motor’s car model, it started mass production of the Pony in 1975. Ten years after exporting the sedans to Ecuador and other countries, the Pony Excell debuted in the US market in 1986.

Making a foray into overseas markets, the automaker set up production bases in Turkey, the US, the Czech Republic, Brazil and Indonesia with an annual production capacity of 5 million units. It is constructing production bases in Ulsan, US and India to add 1 million units to its annual capacity.

The global expansion was fueled by the launch of EVs such as the Ioniq 5 SUV equipped with Hyundai Motor’s EV platform E-GMP, the premium brand Genesis -- with the overseas market accounting for more than 40 percent of total sales -- and the high-performance brand N.

Marking the milestone of reaching 100 million cumulative sales, Hyundai Motor is embarking on a new journey of innovation as a smart mobility solutions provider. This is driven by Executive Chair Chung Euisun’s investment drive in eco-friendly cars, autonomous driving and software-defined vehicles, according to the company.

Last year, it established a smart urban mobility hub, Hyundai Motor Group Global Innovation Center Singapore, where its manufacturing platforms and advanced technologies ranging from artificial intelligence and robotics to smart factories, will be introduced to major upcoming production facilities such as Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in the US state of Georgia and the Ulsan EV plant.

“We were able to accomplish the cumulative 100 million sales thanks to global customers, who have chosen Hyundai cars,” said Hyundai Motor Company CEO Chang Jae-hoon, in a statement. “As a mobility game changer, we will take another leap forward to set another 100 million units record.”