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| January 3 |
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Hyundai Motor Aims for World Best |
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(Seoul, Korea) In his annual new year¡¯s address, Hyundai Motor Co. Chairman Chung Mong-Koo declared 2005 as the year of ¡°Innovation for Humanity¡± and reminded employees of the need to embrace innovation and change in order to transform Hyundai into the world¡¯s best automaker.
¡° ¡®Innovation for Humanity¡¯ is realized by a devotion to customer satisfaction, global automotive excellence and the willingness to innovate and overcome challenges,¡± said Chairman Chung.
Acknowledging that the volatility of foreign exchange markets, high energy prices and a slowing global economy would present formidable difficulties to the company in 2005, Chairman Chung urged employees to rekindle the spirit of challenge and dedication which steered the company through turbulent times in the past. ¡°The situation we are facing is an emergency,¡± Chairman Chung reminded employees.
Spurred by two new model introductions in 2005-the XG and Santa Fe replacements-and the long-awaited introduction in the Korean domestic market of environmentally friendly diesel passenger cars, Hyundai Motor Co. aims for a 13.8 y-o-y growth in unit sales, equivalent to 2.38 million units. In revenue terms, the company¡¯s planning division is looking for an 11.6 percent y-o-y growth to 36.17 trillion won.
Most of the growth will come from overseas sales which are forecast to grow at nearly twice the pace of domestic sales. Hyundai¡¯s overseas sales are forecast to reach 1.78 million units in 2005, up 15.3 percent over 2004 while domestic sales will rise by 9.8 percent to 605,000 units.
R&D Investment to Grow 34.2 Percent in 2005
As an investment in the future, the company will allocate 1.96 trillion won (US$1.86 billion), an increase of 34.2 percent y-o-y for research and development. The combined R&D investment for Hyundai Motor and affiliates will rise 19.4 percent y-o-y to 3.2 trillion won (US$3.04 billion). In terms of facility investments alone, Hyundai Motor has earmarked 820 billion won (US$780 million) for 2005.
Total investments for the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group are set at 6.76 trillion won (US$6.43 billion), an increase of 23.8 percent y-o-y.
Overseas Plants
Hyundai sales in China hit a record-setting pace in 2004 as the company sold nearly 200,000 cars in 24 months. Confident of its prospects in China, the company is hiking investments to expand manufacturing capacity to 600,000 units by 2008.
And in the strategically important U.S. market, the first half of this year will see the company open its first U.S. manufacturing operation in Montgomery Alabama.
2004 Highlights
Reviewing the past year, the company saw cumulative exports pass the 10 million unit milestone in 2004 while annual sales edged past the two million mark for the first time ever. In the United States, the quality of Hyundai cars received a resounding endorsement in the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Initial Quality Survey as the Sonata scored best in its class while in overall scoring, Hyundai trailed the industry leader by just one point. And, at the close of the year, the editors of Business Week, the world¡¯s largest circulation business weekly, picked Chairman Chung Mong-Koo as among the best managers of the year citing him for his outstanding accomplishments in boosting quality and sales volume.
The company saw worldwide sales grow by 16.2 percent in 2004 to reach 2,283,298 units, breaking past the two million mark for the first time in the company¡¯s history.
Ulsan, Asan and Jeonju-Hyundai¡¯s three Korean factories-shipped 1,284,683 units in 2004 for a 17.3 percent y-o-y improvement while overseas plants in India, Turkey and China registered an 85.4 percent surge in sales to 448,184 units. All combined, Hyundai sold 1,732,867 units overseas, registering a 29.6 percent y-o-y gain.
However, domestic sales were sluggish and contracted by 12.3 percent to 550,538 units. The sharpest drop came in commercial vehicle sales which shrank by 21.2 percent to 159,538 units. By contrast, sales of passenger cars, vans and sport-utility vehicles inched down by just 8 percent to 390,893 units. Reflecting the strong appetite for lifestyle vehicles, sales of SUVs and vans remained essentially unchanged in 2004 compared to 2003, with 141,994 units sold.
The past year saw the Getz/Click emerge as the company¡¯s global best seller with 197,198 units shipped from Korea. The Santa Fe was the company¡¯s second most popular vehicle worldwide with 193,393 units shipped, followed by the Elantra/Avante with 182,500 units. The Accent and Sonata placed fourth (146,870 units) and fifth (124,056 units), respectively.
In 2003, the company¡¯s top selling vehicles were: Elantra (187,937 units), Santa Fe (169,513 units), Accent (159,739 units), Getz (146,305 units) and Sonata (129,824 units).
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Co. has grown into the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group which includes over two dozen auto-related subsidiaries and affiliates. Employing over 50,000 people worldwide, Hyundai Motor posted US$20.8 billion in sales in 2003 (on a non-consolidated basis). Hyundai motor vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 5000 dealerships and showrooms. Further information about Hyundai Motor Co. and its products is available on the Internet at http://www.hyundai-motor.com
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