Hyundai quality from extreme testing

25 October 2005
Immediate release

Hyundai quality from extreme testing

Hyundai’s drive for quality is going to extremes to develop and test vehicle components.

Hyundai parts company Mobis is building a test-drive centre deep in the Arctic in Sweden to examine the quality of components during the winter season.

The centre, which will include various test courses, will be built on a frozen lake in Arjeplog, about 100 km from the North Pole. It will open this December.

”Our products will be tested in various bitterly-cold conditions,” commented a South Korean company official. ”The centre is in line with our ambition to produce the world’s best braking and module systems.

Hyundai’s existing research centers in South Korea, Europe and North America will share information with the Arctic operation to develop and improve technologies.

Hyundai has also announced it is about to spend one billion Euro (approx NZ$2 billion) on a new plant to be built, probably in the Czech Republic, for production of 300,000 vehicles a year from 2008.

And Hyundai will use Slovakia as a strategic export and production base to bolster its presence in the European market.

After North America, Europe is Hyundai’s second largest market with sales expected to reach 420,000 units this year. Hyundai forecasts European sales of 520,000 units in 2006 and 580,000 units in 2007.

The firm also plans to build a test centre in China and another is under construction in Sosan, in Korea’s South Chungchong Province. A focus is the development of highest quality chassis modules and safety systems.

The company is seeking to more than treble global sales of braking systems to 1 trillion won a year by 2010.

Hyundai’s reputation for quality vehicles is fast expanding, evidenced by numerous international awards from companies such as J.D Power and Associates. Here in New Zealand the all-new Sonata mid-sized sedan has just been named National Business Review car of the year.

ENDS

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