Hyundai Motor Co. is forming a joint venture with Guangzhou Motor Group, located in China’s Guangdong province, to manufacture light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses.
The two partners are investing $430 million in Guangzhou Hyundai Motor Co., building a plant in Huadu, Guangdong. Work on the facility is expected to begin by the end of the year and is scheduled for completion by 2007. According to Hyundai, capacity will start at 20,000 units annually, expanding to 200,000 a year by 2011.
With the market for light- and medium-duty trucks in China pegged at 100 times the size of the Korean market, Hyundai says this segment represents is biggest opportunity for growth.
Hyundai has been in the automotive market in China since 2002, when it established Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., a 50-50 joint venture with Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co.
