BUSINESS: Hyundai Motor on Monday reached 100 million units of total global production, a milestone achieved in the 57 years since the company was founded, the automaker said. To celebrate the occasion, Hyundai Motor held a ceremony at its plant in Ulsan, about 300 km southeast of Seoul, where the company produced South Korea’s first independent mass-produced model, the Pony, in 1975.
The company said it has delivered its 100 millionth and first Ioniq 5 vehicle directly to customers. The car was rolled off the assembly line for final inspection as part of a handover ceremony at the plant’s control center, reports Yonhap news agency. “Achieving a total global production of 100 million vehicles is an important milestone made possible by our customers around the world who have chosen Hyundai Motor from the very beginning,” Hyundai Motor President and CEO Jung Jae-hoon said. And by striving for continuous innovation, we have been able to move faster and take a step closer to becoming a leader in the field of mobility,” Chang Will said. The Ulsan plant, which began operations in 1968, holds significant historical significance as the cradle of the development of the Korean automobile industry. The plant serves as a central hub for electrification, and Hyundai Motor’s production volume is considered to be the fastest-growing among global automakers.
From 1967 to August of that year, the Avante, known overseas as the Elantra, was the best-selling model with 15.37 million units, followed by the Accent with 10.25 million units, the Sonata with 9.48 million units, and the Tucson with 9.36 million units sold, and the Santa Fe with 5.95 million units sold. This success is driven by Hyundai Motor’s continued growth, driven by the launch of the premium Genesis brand, the high-performance N brand and the introduction of electric vehicles such as the Ioniq 5 based on the company’s dedicated electric Global Modular Platform. The company’s global presence expanded with production facilities in Turkey, India, the United States and the Czech Republic, which contributed to record results including more than 50 million vehicles produced in 2013.
