ID :
20219
Fri, 09/19/2008 - 20:22
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/20219
The shortlink copeid
Hyundai Motor to start building auto plant in Brazil in November
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co. said Friday it plans to build its first South American auto manufacturing plant in Brazil to benefit from the fast-growing vehicle market there.
Hyundai, South Korea's largest carmaker, will spend US$600 million for the plant to be built in the city of Piracicaba, about 157 kilometers northwest of the Brazilian capital, the company said. Construction will start in early November.
"Piracicaba is the best location for Hyundai Motor to build a production base in South America," Hyundai Motor President Choi Jae-kook said in a statement.
When construction is completed in 2011, the new plant will have an annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles and create some 4,000 jobs, according to the statement.
The Brazilian auto market is expected to grow 17 percent to 2.78 million units this year, Hyundai said.
In the first eight months of this year, Hyundai sold a total of 36,006 vehicles in Brazili, up 178.4 percent from the same period a year earlier, it said.
Hyundai is aggressively building overseas plants to avoid chronic labor strikes at home and losses from foreign-currency fluctuations.
Since early July, about 45,000 workers at Hyundai's local plants have staged temporary ten-day walk-offs from their jobs, demanding more pay, better working conditions and a greater say in management.
So far this year, the partial strikes have cost Hyundai 690.5 billion won ($614 million), or 42,294 vehicles in lost production.
Hyundai also delayed the planned launch of its Genesis coupe in South Korea, initially scheduled for Monday, as it had failed to fully assemble the new model due to the partial walkouts.
Hyundai, South Korea's largest carmaker, will spend US$600 million for the plant to be built in the city of Piracicaba, about 157 kilometers northwest of the Brazilian capital, the company said. Construction will start in early November.
"Piracicaba is the best location for Hyundai Motor to build a production base in South America," Hyundai Motor President Choi Jae-kook said in a statement.
When construction is completed in 2011, the new plant will have an annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles and create some 4,000 jobs, according to the statement.
The Brazilian auto market is expected to grow 17 percent to 2.78 million units this year, Hyundai said.
In the first eight months of this year, Hyundai sold a total of 36,006 vehicles in Brazili, up 178.4 percent from the same period a year earlier, it said.
Hyundai is aggressively building overseas plants to avoid chronic labor strikes at home and losses from foreign-currency fluctuations.
Since early July, about 45,000 workers at Hyundai's local plants have staged temporary ten-day walk-offs from their jobs, demanding more pay, better working conditions and a greater say in management.
So far this year, the partial strikes have cost Hyundai 690.5 billion won ($614 million), or 42,294 vehicles in lost production.
Hyundai also delayed the planned launch of its Genesis coupe in South Korea, initially scheduled for Monday, as it had failed to fully assemble the new model due to the partial walkouts.
