Hyundai Motor head stresses importance of overseas expansion
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo checks a vehicle on an assembly line at a Kia Motors plant in Slovakia, Wednesday (local time). Chung stressed the importance of bolstering overseas operations and increasing sales of SUVs and environment-friendly cars. / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
Chariman Chung visits plants in Eastern Europe following Russia
By Lee Hyo-sik
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo has vowed to place top priority on bolstering the company’s overseas sales and achieving sustainable growth.
Chung, who is visiting Russia and Eastern Europe to find ways of boosting sales there amid increasingly uncertain market conditions, also stressed the importance of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and environment-friendly cars to fuel the carmaker’s growth.
On Wednesday (local time), Chung visited a Kia Motors plant in Slovakia to check its production and sales strategies. A day earlier, he toured a Hyundai Motor plant in St. Petersburg, Russia. Chung also visited a Hyundai Motor plant in the Czech Republic, Thursday (local time).
“Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have achieved remarkable growths over the years by tapping into new markets,” Chung said while touring the Slovakia plant. “We should boost overseas sales to ride out increasing market uncertainties, as we did in the past.”
The Slovakia plant produced 178,000 cars, including the Sportage SUV, in the first six months of the year, up 5 percent from a year earlier. It is expected to build 335,000 vehicles this year.
Hyundai and Kia should make every effort to enhance competitiveness by investing in research and development and improving brand image, Chung said.
“With the global auto market entering a low-growth phase, automakers will likely face unfavorable business conditions in Europe for the remainder of the year,” he said. “We must overcome current difficulties to emerge as the world’s leading automaker. Now is the perfect time for us to do so when other companies are struggling.”
Korea’s largest carmaker said Chung’s latest visit reflects the growing importance of the European market for Hyundai and Kia. The two sold a combined 491,000 vehicles in Europe in the first six months of this year, up 12.3 percent from a year earlier. The chairman also sought to check how the market has changed since Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.
To lift sales in Europe, Hyundai and Kia plan to more aggressively market their SUVs, including the Tucson and the Sportage, and environment-friendly vehicles, such as the i-Oniq and the Niro.
Hyundai and Kia will launch the new i30 compact sedan and the K5 sports wagon in Europe next month.