17-10-2017, 04:36 PM
Hyundai Motor Company is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer based in Seoul, South Korea. The company was founded in 1967 and together with its 32.8% subsidiary Kia Motors. Its 100% owned subsidiary of Genesis Motors, which together make up the Hyundai Motor Group. It is the third largest manufacturer of vehicles in the world.
Hyundai operates the world's largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in Ulsan, South Korea, which has an annual production capacity of 1.6 million units. The company employs about 75,000 people worldwide. Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 5,000 dealerships and showrooms.
History
Chung Ju-Yung founded Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company in 1947. Hyundai Motor Company was established later in 1967. The company's first model, the Cortina, was launched in cooperation with the Ford Motor Company in 1968. When Hyundai wanted to develop its own automobile, hired George Turnbull in February 1974, the former Managing Director of Austin Morris in British Leyland. In turn, he hired five other top British engineers. They were the body design of Kenneth Barnett, engineers John Simpson and Edward Chapman, John Crosthwaite former BRM as chassis engineer and Peter Slater as chief engineer of development. In 1975, Pony, the first South Korean car, was launched in the style of Giorgio Giugiaro by ItalDesign and the transmission technology provided by Mitsubishi Motors of Japan. Exports began in the year following Ecuador and shortly thereafter in the Benelux countries.
In 1984, Hyundai exported the Pony to Canada, but not to the United States, because Pony did not exceed the emission standards there. Canadian sales far exceeded expectations, and was at one time the best-selling car in the Canadian market. In 1985, the millionth Hyundai car was built.
In 1986, Hyundai began selling cars in the United States, and Excel was nominated as "Best Product # 10" by Fortune magazine, largely because of its affordability. The company began producing models with its own technology in 1988, starting with the medium-sized Sonata. In the spring of 1990, total production of Hyundai cars reached four million. In 1991, the company managed to develop its first patented gasoline engine, the four-cylinder Alpha and also its own transmission, thus paving the way for technological independence.
In 1996, Hyundai Motor India Limited was established with a production facility in Irungattukottai near Chennai, India. In 1998, Hyundai began revising its image in an attempt to establish itself as a world-class brand. Chung Ju Yung transferred Hyundai Motor's leadership to his son Chung Mong Koo in 1999. Hyundai's parent company, Hyundai Motor Group, invested heavily in the quality, design, manufacture and long-term research of its vehicles . It added a 10-year or 100,000-mile (160,000 km) warranty to US-sold cars and launched an aggressive marketing campaign.
In 2004, Hyundai was ranked second in "initial quality" in a J.D. Power and Associates. Hyundai is now one of the top 100 most valuable brands in the world. Since 2002, Hyundai has also been one of the official global sponsors of the FIFA World Cup.
In 2006, the South Korean government began an investigation into the practices of Chung Mong Koo as Hyundai's chief, suspecting him of corruption. On April 28, 2006, Chung was arrested and charged with misappropriation of 100 billion South Korean won (US $ 106 million). As a result, Kim Dong-jin, Hyundai's vice president and chief executive officer, replaced him as head of the company. On September 30, 2011, Yang Seung Suk announced his retirement as CEO of Hyundai Motor Co. In the interim replacement period, Chung Mong-koo and Kim Eok-jo will split the duties of the CEO position.