[Courtesy of Beijing Hyundai]
Unfazed by a business setback in China, South Korea's leading carmaker Hyundai Motor vowed to step up marketing with a diversified lineup of new sport utility vehicles and eco-friendly cars in the world's biggest auto market.
Hyundai's investor relations executive Koo Ja-young told a conference call that the company would expand the lineup of SUV models from four to seven in China by 2020 while releasing eco-friendly cars.
"We will strengthen our localization strategy by recruiting personnel in design and R & D specialized in China," he said, pledging "all-out" efforts to restore confidence from Chinese consumers.
Due to a sharp drop in sales in China, Hyundai's third-quarter net profit fell 16 percent on-year to 939 billion won (835 million US dollars). Operating profit rose 13 percent to 1.2 trillion won and sales were up 9.6 percent to 24.2 trillion.
In the first nine months, sales were up four percent on-year to 71.8 trillion won but operating profit fell 8.8 percent to 3.8 trillion won. Net profit was also down 29.9 percent to 3.25 trillion won.
The deployment of a US missile shield in South Korea strained ties between Seoul and Beijing, leading Chinese consumers to shun South Korean products. Hyundai's four plants in China have a combined capacity of 1.35 million vehicles. This year, the company opened its fifth plant in China with a capacity of 300,000 units in Chongqing.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
