Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo gives a speech at a ceremony 

to kick off the new year at the group's head office in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, on Jan. 2.

Chairman Chung Mong-koo of Hyundai Motor Group said the automaker will produce 7.86 million autos and market them around the world this year under the group’s target for 2014.

At the group’s New Year’s ceremony held at its head office in Yangje-dong, Seoul, he said the automaker’s major focus of its strategy is to strengthen its future growth basis.

Hyundai Motor plans to produce 4.9 million autos, 682,000 cars at home, while Kia Motors’ goal is to produce 2.96 million cars, including 2.48 million cars overseas.

Chung said the group produced 7.56 million cars last year, including those produced at the group’s nine auto plants overseas, and sold 7.41 million cars, up 2 percent over 2012. The group’s overseas output for the first time exceeded 4 million units last year, bringing accumulated total car output to 20 million units at its overseas plants.

The group’s non-auto sector including Hyundai Steel has put its 3rd blast furnace online, completing its project to upgrade its operation as an integrated steel mill with the annual capacity to produce 24 million tons of crude steel. Hyundai Construction also did well last year with its accumulated total overseas project orders exceeding $100 billion.

Chung said this year, competition among businesses overseas and at home would grow intense as the global economy improves and uncertainty rises due to technological fusion in various industries.

He continued to say that he will lead the reform of the management structure of the group’s worldwide operation to make them more effective and dynamic in better coping with management conditions both at home and abroad.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo 

In detail, the chairman said he will see that mid-to-long term strategies will be put together to find future growth engines for the group by developing technologies to produce revolutionary products through the collective efforts of all sectors of the group. He said investments in the development of new technologies for environmentally friendly ‘smart-cars’ with lower fuel consumption will be expanded. Securing talented people for R&D activities and expanded investments to create jobs make up some of the auto sector’s tasks for this year, Chung said.

Chung said the construction and steel affiliates will focus on the development of technologies to produce better quality steel products such as steel plates and new material to upgrade the quality of complete cars. New construction technologies and construction capacities in the areas of environment and energy will be reinforced to find new opportunities for growth, the chairman said.

The group will make efforts to strengthen its cooperative ties with vendors to encourage mutual growth and it will expand social service activities for economically disadvantaged people to do its corporate duty in striving to make people in Korea happy.