Hyundai Motor finishes global plants

Hyundai Motor has completed its establishment of vehicle assembly lines on four continents ― Asia, Europe, North America and South America ― by recently launching a factory in Brazil.

The company has been rolling out 1 million vehicles per year in China, 600,000 units in India, 300,000 units in the United States, 300,000 units in the Czech Republic, 200,000 units in Russia and 100,000 units in Turkey.

At a ceremony to celebrate opening of the Brazilian plant in Sao Paulo over the weekend, chairman Chung Mong-koo of the automaker expressed his confidence toward enhanced global management in the coming years.

“Hyundai Motor and (its affiliate) Kia Motors are posting yearly sales of about 70,000 vehicles at home and abroad. The share of overseas sales accounts for around 80 percent,” Chung told reporters.

Concerning the Brazilian market, he hinted at further investment, commenting on the country’s huge growth potential.

“With the plant, Hyundai Motor will contribute to the development of Brazil’s automotive industry and regional economy by creating some 5,000 jobs and fostering auto parts makers (in the country),” he said.

While the initial payroll comes to about 1,800 employees the factory, the company plans to increase the number to 2,000 by next year.

Under chairman Chung’s initiative toward global management, it took about a decade for Hyundai Motor to set up assembly lines in Brazil, Russia, India and China as well as the U.S. and Europe.

While Hyundai and Kia have secured the combined annual production capacity of 3.69 million units in the overseas market, their capacity is projected to expand to 4.09 million units over the next two years.

Hyundai seeks to increase the Turkish plant’s capacity by 100,000 units and by 2013 and Kia is scheduled to complete the third plant in China by 2014.

The automotive group has pushed for “glocalization,” a term referring to strategies for garnering locals’ sincere support in areas where plants are located. It actively recruited locals as well as offering them many training opportunities for automobile industry-related skills.

Thanks to its contributions to vitalization in the regional economies, Hyundai and Kia enjoy business-friendly environments provided by municipal governments.

Their factories in small towns in the Czech Republic and Slovakia are the two best examples.

Though Hyundai’s Czech factory is located in Nosovice, with a population of about 1,000, it has played a significant role in activating the economy of the country’s northeastern region.

The northeastern region which includes Ostrava, the country’s fourth-largest city located near Nosovice, lags behind the western part, where Prague is located, in citizens’ income level.

As its plant pays more than other workplaces in the region, many workers apply for jobs, according to the administrator of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)