Hyundai chairman vows to expand investment in new technology

By Lim Chang-won Posted : January 2, 2018, 10:58 Updated : January 2, 2018, 10:58

[Aju News DB]


SEOUL, Jan. 02 (Aju News) -- The chairman of South Korea's Hyundai auto group vowed to expand investments in developing technologies related to autonomous and eco-friendly vehicles that could become the company's new growth engine.

Chung Mong-koo said in his New Year message that Hyundai would seek a structural change for quick decision-making, saying the auto industry is seeing a rapid change because of innovation in future technologies and competition.

"The auto industry is seeing a rapid change because of accelerated innovation in future technologies and intensifying competition," he said, adding Hyundai would strive to strengthen its competitive edge abroad.

"In particular, we will strengthen our competitiveness in major markets such as China and the United States and actively pursue new markets such as ASEAN to expand our global sales," Chung said, admitting Hyundai Motor and its affiliate, Kia Motors, posted sluggish sales in China last year.

For years, frequent strikes, excessive demands and intervention in management have hurt Hyundai's competitiveness, contributing to low productivity and slow sales.

In an effort to boost production abroad, Hyundai seeks to strengthen localization in overseas markets by allowing each regional CEO to control production, sales, planning and financing.

In 2018, Chung said his group would actively respond to customer needs by establishing a "responsible" management system in each region.  The auto group has unveiled a roadmap to increase the number of eco-friendly vehicles up to 38 by 2025.

"In research and development, we will continue to invest in future core technologies, including autonomous driving, to lead innovation," Chung said.

Hyundai and Kia plan to diversify the lineup of all-electric, gasoline hybrid, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, starting with the release of a new hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) model in the first half of this year.

The company's first FCEV model, "Tucson ix FCEV", unveiled in 2010, has largely failed to win over consumers, but Hyundai vowed to step up the development of related technologies, saying hydrogen fuel cells would become a general trend.

Hyundai has said its new FCEV model would be capable of covering a distance of up to 590 kilometers (366 miles) when fully charged.
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