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Hyundai Plans Fourth Auto Plant in China
Hyundai Motor Co. hopes to open its fourth assembly plant in China in 2016, adding 300,000 units of annual capacity in the country.
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Hyundai Motor Co. hopes to open its fourth assembly plant in China in 2016, adding 300,000 units of annual capacity in the country.
The company says Chairman Chung Mong-koo plans on Thursday to sign a memorandum of understanding to build the factory in Chongqing. Reuters cites an unidentified source who puts the project's value at 1 trillion won ($930 million).
Last year Hyundai sold 1 million vehicles in China. Its current facilities outside Beijing have combined annual capacity to make nearly 1.1 million vehicles.
The new factory will be Hyundai's first major new plant since 2012, when it opened facilities in Brazil and China. Chung ordered a halt to new construction shortly thereafter, worrying that too much expansion might produce quality issues similar to those that plagued Toyota Motor Corp. after its big growth spurt a decade ago.
The freeze enabled Hyundai and its suppliers to refocus on quality. But it also has strained existing capacity. Reuters says Hyundai and its Kia affiliate utilized 105% of their global capacity last year. The two companies hope to sell nearly 7.86 million vehicles in 2014 from 7.56 million in 2013.
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