Hyundai Motor plans to buy an additional 20% stake in its joint venture company in Turkey for 43.6 billion won.
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As a result, annual production of Starex vans and Accent subcompact cars from CKD kits will jump to 200,000 units a year from 60,000 currently.
The stake in Hyundai Assan Otomotiv Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S., or HAOS, will rise to 70% from 50%, Hyundai Motor said.
Hyundai Motor opened the Turkish joint venture with the Kibar Group in 1996.
“Through the stake upgrade, Hyundai wants to boost production capacity at the plant, which is needed to achieve our goal of becoming one of the top five global automakers by 2010,” Hyundai spokesman Jake Jang told just-auto. “We also want to reduce the investment burden on our Turkish partner.”
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By GlobalDataJake said the expanded investment is also part of Hyundai’s aggressive effort to expand its overseas production bases.
Hyundai Motor, which controls about 75% of South Korea’s new vehicle market together with its Kia Motors affiliate, wants annual production capacity of five million units world-wide by 2010. In 2004, Hyundai and Kia Motors sold 3.18 million cars.
In a related development, Hyundai Motor Vice Chairman Kim Dong-Jin said new US Hyundai plant in Alabama will produce 150,000 Sonatas each year, up from the original target of 90,000.
Peter Chang
