Mong-Koo Chung, chairman and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation, joined a group of VIPs in a ceremonial groundbreaking on Hyundai’s first US proving ground in California City, Calif.
The 4,300-acre, $50-million facility will be the test site for next-generation Hyundai and Kia vehicles.
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The Hyundai/Kia Motors Proving Ground site is located 100 miles north of Los Angeles in the Mojave Desert (north of State Highway 58).
Construction will begin later this year and the facility is scheduled to open in late 2004. The grounds will include a 6.4-mile oval track, a Vehicle Dynamics Area (VDA), a vehicle-handling course inside the oval track, a paved hill road, and several special surface roads. A 30,000-square-foot complex for offices will also be constructed.
“The U.S.-based Hyundai/Kia Motors Proving Ground will ensure that future Hyundai and Kia vehicles are designed with the North American consumer in mind,” said Chairman Chung. “Hyundai is committed to building on the momentum we’ve established in the U.S., and this state-of-the-art testing facility will help us do so.”
