By Ryu Jin
Staff Reporter
Hyundai Motor will celebrate its 40th anniversary next week. Based on global management, it now aims to be one of the world’s top five automotive groups along with its affiliate Kia Motors by 2010.
On Dec. 29, 1967, Hyundai Motor was capitalized at 100 million won. In about four decades, the company has emerged as the world’s sixth-largest automotive group along with Kia Motors with an annual production of nearly 4 million vehicles.
Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo, in particular, has focused on strategies such as quality improvement and globalization over the past decade to survive the fierce competition in the global market.
Hyundai Motor’s brand image was tarnished by its cheap and substandard impression it had in the global market including the United States about 10 years ago. Chung realized that there would be no future for his company without the improvement of qualities.
Beside the efforts to enhance qualities, Chung also focused on the global management for a more stable and efficient production and sales in overseas markets. ``Our future lies in the overseas market,’’ he told executives and employees earlier this year.
Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors now operate factories in the U.S., China, India, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and many other countries around the world. The automotive group’s overseas production capacity is expected to top three million units per year from 2010.
``By 2010, we will have a total production capacity of six million including three million at home,’’ a group spokesman said. ``By that time, we expect that the Hyundai-Kia Group will become one of the world’s top five automotive groups.’’