The partnership, which will be a 50:50 effort, is to expand the current 40,000 vehicles production output and sell some 100,000 heavy trucks in China by 2014. The estimate is based on the 29 percent of the global market represented by China in 2008.
“Entering China’s commercial vehicle market is essential for Hyundai to grow into a comprehensive vehicle manufacturer in the world’s largest auto market,” Choi Han Young, Hyundai’s commercial vehicle division vice chairman said in a release quoted by Bloomberg.
Following China, the commercial vehicle portfolio of the Korean carmaker will expand with the entry in the US, some three years from now. According to Yonhap News, the move to the US may also be achieved via some type of joint venture.
Hyundai's global operations have been restructured this year, with the withdrawal from the Japanese passenger car market being the latest development.
With the South Korean auto firm doing so well in other geographic areas and in these uncertain economic times, when other car manufacturers struggle to survive, Hyundai returned discouraging sales results in Japan since it entered the market 8 years ago.
However, Hyundai announced it will keep its commercial vehicle business active, after releasing in 2006 a new line of Universe buses here, which sold only 43 units until now.
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