Hyundai Motor Group Cchairman 

Chung Mong-koo. 

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo delivered his New Year’s message at his headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, on Jan. 2 in which he unveiled the year’s goal of producing and selling 8.2 million units.

Chairman Chung made his remarks at a ceremony to embark on the new year. He made a positive assessment of the group’s business performances in 2014. 

“Despite last year’s hard business conditions, we have made a feat of selling 8 million units thanks to executives and staff members’ efforts,” he said. 

The figure was 140,000 units more than the 2014 goal of selling 7.86 million units, established early in the year. With an integrated steel production system, Hyundai Steel ventured into the specialty steel business sector last year and successfully restructured similar and duplicated businesses among subsidiaries. 

Chung set as his group’s management tenets the enhancement of future competitiveness through expanded investment. He also unveiled the top six tasks: enhancement of the value of brands; strengthening the group’s R&D capacity to shore up its future competitiveness; making global production and sale systems efficient; the construction of the group’s new headquarters; conducting shared growth and social contributions; and ramping of safety management.

“Of late, amidst the slow growth of the global economy, emerging economies have begun to show political uncertainties, and competition among global automakers is getting fierce,” he said.

Chung stressed the enhancement of the value of his group’s brands by releasing a diverse range of cars that are eco-friendly and strategically tailored to meet locals’ needs. The company also secured the world’s premier quality competitiveness to rise to a global automaker. To this end, the chairman said his group plans to expand mid- and long-term investments to secure such future growth engines as eco-friendly and smart advanced technology and enhanced brand values. 

“Our group’s future competitiveness depends on how much we can secure innovative technologies and capability to develop products, and nurture creative manpower,” Chairman Chung said. Hyudai Motor Group plans to expand advanced research facilities by dramatically boosting investments into the R&D sector, and to hire excellent research manpower and beef up collaboration between industry and academic circles, he added. 

As part of efforts to brace for uncertain business conditions, he said the group has decided to dramatically enhance the efficiency of global production and marketing systems. “We have to strengthen close relationships among 32 plants in nine countries across the globe, six R&D research centers, and all marketing networks, including dealerships,” he said. 

Hyundai Motor Group said it will stop at nothing to secure unit price competitiveness and entrench itself by enhancing productivity, commonly utilizing platforms and parts, and innovating materials to counter a challenge from competitors based on a low yen. 

Chung called for the realization of the creative economy based on the Gwangju Creative Economy Innovation Center, to be established in January. 

He urged the group’s steel division to focus on the development of advanced materials to improve the quality of manufactured cars and the construction division to open a new growth era by ramping up core technology capability. 

Concerning the construction of the group’s new integrated headquarters on the former KEPCO site, which will serve as the group’s control tower, he said it will be a complex business center representing Korea’s economy and culture.