A view of the new Tucson powered by fuel batteries.

Chairman Chung Mong-koo of Hyundai Motor Group announced the group will produce nine million cars annually from 2018, with total sales of autos last year coming to around 8 million, which would put Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors shoulder-to-shoulder with leading automakers like GM, Toyota and Volkswagen.  

The chairman also revealed that the group will invest a total of 81 trillion won over the next four years to secure future growth engines in the fast-changing global auto industry. A number of new models in such areas as unmanned vehicles and hydrogen-powered cars began to surface last year with such IT giants as Google and LG Electronics ready to jump into the automobile industry.

The total investment, the largest investment ever to be made by the group in its history, will break down to 15.3 trillion won in each of the next four years, which is about the same as the net profit earned by the group in 2013. 

Hyundai Motor Group intends to plough some 61 trillion won, or 76 percent of the total investment, in the expansion of its facilities and R&D activities at home to create jobs by spurring the economy. The group plans to expand its existing car plants in China and the United States and also build new ones in those countries, the two largest auto markets in the world. The group also will build a car plant in Mexico, right next door to the U.S. 

China’s car market is projected to be around 20 million new cars in 2016. Hyundai Motor eyes the construction of its second auto plant in the U.S. to turn out SUVs to the tune of 300,000 units annually, with the U.S. economy showing signs of recovery. SUV sales in the first two month period in the U.S. rose to 885,000, up 14.5 percent year-on-year, compared to a 9.2 percent rise in the sales of all cars in the U.S. in the same period.

The group has set aside some 49.1 trillion won for investments in auto manufacturing plants at home and abroad and the construction of the Global Business Center in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, former site of the Korea Electric Power Corp., which the group bought in an auction last year. The group plans to build a 105-story building for offices, a hotel and shopping malls at the site, including the largest display center for its autos in the world.

A total of 31.6 trillion won will go to the R&D in the development of new car models including environmentally friendly cars such as hydrogen-powered automobiles and “smart” unmanned automobiles. 

The group has been focusing on the production of hydrogen-powered automobiles under a vision to compete with GM and Toyota, among other the automakers with long history. Hyundai Motor introduced the Tucson hydrogen-powered lorry in 2013 and now plans to introduce a hydrogen-driven car in 2018 to show the world its top-class auto-making technologies. The motor group will go all-out to develop a hydrogen-powered sedan by 2018 to ensure its future operation, which would also make contribution to the national economy. 

Hyundai Motor Group’s will turn itself into an well-rounded auto maker, with affiliated firms including a steel mill to make steel plates for autos and auto parts maker in Hyundai Mobis. Its total assets have grown to over 150 trillion won over a decade of its operation from 2000 when its total assets amounted to just 36 trillion won. Its total assets are ranked just behind Samsung Group among all conglomerates in Korea.

Investments will also go to the group’s auto parts makers including Hyundai Mobis with some 3.9 trillion won allocated, steel makers Hyundai Steel and Hyundai Hysco with 300 billion won allocated. Also getting new investments are Hyundai Construction, Hyundai Engineering and Hyundai Glovis — affiliates in the areas of construction and logistics.

A view of the fuel batteries in the engine compartment of the Tucson.(Photos:Hyundai Motor)