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Photo = Yonhap news |
[Alpha Biz= Reporter Kim Jisun] Hyundai Motor is set to invest $548 million (approximately KRW 800 billion) into its Chinese joint venture, Beijing Hyundai. Beijing Hyundai is a collaboration between Hyundai Motor and BAIC, one of China’s top five automakers. With BAIC contributing an equivalent amount, the total investment will reach nearly KRW 1.6 trillion. Hyundai plans to launch its first electric vehicle (EV) in China through Beijing Hyundai next year.
In the 2010s, Hyundai's market share in China exceeded 6%, but sales plummeted after the THAAD incident. The company has since been overshadowed by the growth of local Chinese automakers, with its current market share hovering around 1%. This move is seen as a comeback strategy as Hyundai shifts from scaling down its operations in China to reinvesting in the market.
The decision to resume investment reflects the growing importance of China, the world’s largest EV market. Before the 2016 THAAD controversy, Hyundai operated five factories in China. However, following a sharp decline in sales, the company sold its Beijing plant in 2021 and its Chongqing plant earlier this year. Hyundai’s sales in China last year (approximately 240,000 units) were only one-fifth of its 2016 sales figures.
Hyundai is scheduled to introduce its first EV in the Chinese market next year.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
