Hyundai Motor Group said yesterday that it aims to become the world’s sixth-largest carmaker in the next four or five years by concentrating on enhancing productivity and quality, the Korea Herald reported.
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President Choi Han-young, in charge of the group’s strategic planning and marketing, told reporters yesterday that his company plans to develop high value-added cars and improve product durability and organizational strength.
“We out did Toyota in the U.S. in initial quality surveys last year, but we still have a long way to go to rival their model diversity and brand value,” said Choi, referring to what he called “overestimation” by the US media.
According to researcher Global Insight, Hyundai Motor Group sold 3.36 million cars last year, ranking eighth after GM, Ford, Toyota, Renault-Nissan, Volkswagen, DaimlerChrysler and PSA Peugeot-Citroen.
Hyundai’s sales of 49 trillion won were fewer than Honda’s 72 trillion won.
Hyundai’s productivity, or sales divided by the number of employees, is less than 30 percent of that of Toyota’s.
The Korean carmaker’s sales growth during the past three years was 7.3 percent, far behind Toyota’s 10.5 percent.
Choi stressed how difficult it is for an automaker to enter the top five group.
“While the world’s five largest makers sell at least 3 million cars at home, the total demand in Korea is a mere million units,” Choi said.
