SKorea's Hyundai to open plant in Thailand |
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Wed, 25 Jul 2007 05:23
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BANGKOK (Thomson Financial) - Hyundai Motor Co, South Korea's top automaker, said Wednesday it is setting up a production facility in Thailand, in its first investment here since pulling out of the country after the 1997 Asian crisis.Hyundai Motor (Thailand), capitalised at about 12 million US dollars, has been set up for local production and distribution of three models.The automaker aims to begin production of its mid-sized sedan Hyundai Sonata in Thailand in the fourth quarter of this year, with part of the output for export to the rest of Southeast Asia, it said.The company is still determining how many vehicles the facility will produce, a spokesman for Hyuandai's Thai unit said.'Hyundai Thailand is our effort to penetrate the Thai automobile market in the fourth quarter of this year. We believe the assembly quality of Thai skilled labour will help strengthen customer confidence in the quality of Hyundai products,' Yoshizumi Kurada, president of Hyundai Motor (Thailand), said in a statement.The South Korean automaker pulled out of Thailand following the 1997 financial crisis, which saw the economy crash and vehicle sales slump.Its re-entry comes despite continued weakness in the Thai vehicle market, with domestic auto sales falling 12.6 percent in the first half of this year to 292,514, according to figures complied by Toyota Motor Thailand.afp/mb-mbCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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