Hyundai launches production

24 Sep. 2009 | CzechInvest, Hyundai | Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea’s biggest carmaker, has started production at its plant in the North Moravian town of Nošovice. The production capacity of the plant, in which Hyundai invested EUR 1 billion (approx. CZK 25 billion), is now 200,000 vehicles annually. Eighty thousand new cars have rolled off its assembly lines so far.

Minister of Industry and Trade Vladimír Tošovský stated that he is pleased that carmakers are focusing on the Czech environment, the Czech Republic and the knowledge of the Czech people. “The investment that Hyundai implemented in Nošovice is clear evidence that such a combination leads to success,” says Tošovský.

“Hyundai currently employs roughly 2,000 people; another 4,000 jobs have been created among suppliers. According to the plan, the plant will be in full operation in 2011, when the carmaker and its suppliers should have up to 11,000 employees,” says Alexandra Rudyšarová, acting CEO of CzechInvest.

“Our objective is and always has been to become one of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers,” says Euisun Chung, vice-president of Hyundai Motor Company. “The plant in Nošovice plays a very important role in achieving our global objectives. Therefore, we will carefully develop this new plant so that it will serve as an example and benchmark for the global automotive industry.”

Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech has stated that 95 percent of its employees are Czechs. Between 65 and 70 percent of the components it uses are manufactured in the Czech Republic. Approximately 90 percent of the cars manufactured in Nošovice are intended for customers in Europe, whereas the firm exports the remainder to countries in the Middle East and Africa.

The plant began operation with production of the Hyundai i30 hatchback. Production of the i30cw estate car began in February this year. The third model to come of the plant’s assembly lines will be the multipurpose class-B Kia Venga, production of which will begin in the last quarter of this year. The production programme will be expanded with the addition of a fourth model in 2011, when capacity should reach 300,000 cars annually in three-shift operation.

The South Korean investor announced the plan to build a new factory in 2005. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech was established in June 2006 and construction of the plant began on 18 April 2008 and series production started on 3 November 2008.

More about Hyundai:

Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Company currently comprises the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, which includes more than twenty subsidiary automotive companies and organisations. Since 2007 the company has been the world’s fifth-largest carmaker. The company employs approximately 75,000 people around the world and sold 2.8 million vehicles in 2008 with total sales reaching USD 25.6 billion.