Hyundai Boosts Annual Russian Output 58%

Hyundai Motor Co. tells Bloomberg News the company expects to build 220,000 small cars at its factory in St. Petersburg, Russia, this year compared with 139,000 units in 2011.

The facility, Hyundai's only assembly plant in Russia, makes the Hyundai Solaris and affiliate Kia's Rio. The South Korean carmaker opened the $500 million factory in 2010.

Hyundai hiked its sales in the country 15% year on year to 173,000 vehicles in the first 11 months of 2012, thanks largely to the locally made Solaris, according to the company. It expects to boost Russia sales about 5% in 2013, in line with the market's growth.