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Hyundai Kia Automotive thinks Big, thinks Green
March 1, 2009 |
Nearly $6bn USD is a lot of money by any automakers standards - but this time its not Ford or GM asking for it, it’s the giant Eastern manufacturing group Hyundai Kia who are spending this sum. Research and Development may have been one of the first areas to see cutbacks for many auto manufacturers (and manufacturing in general) but not so for the Korean HKA Group. They are looking to seriously step up their research on fuel efficient, ‘green’ vehicles as well as investing in diversified manufacturing facilities and state of the art production technology. According to their PR, Hyundai Kia are commited to overcoming (ignoring?) the current Worldwide economic crisis and continuing to develop their brand and business. Whether this policy and tactics pay off or (depending largely on how the ‘crisis’ plays out) actually serve to bring trouble to the brand further down the line remains to be seen. So, what is this bold $2bn investment (in green car technology, specifically) likely to do for the consumer.
Well, although currently light on details, Hyundai Kia have gone on record saying that they wish to produce not only fuel efficient, environmentally friendly vehicles but ones which are consumer friendly too - with a target of no less than 30,000 full production units to hit forecourts next year. This aggressive strategy and proposed job creation, to mass produce the new models, comes at not only a difficult time for automakers worldwide, but on the heels of below expectation sales figures for Hyundai in January (by over 25%). It is encouraging to see proactive production and forward thinking in a marketplace currently dominated by budget managers and CEO’s alike all sitting on their hands and committing to nothing other than cutbacks. Whether the reverse will prove to be a successful and potentially lucrative long term strategy for the Korean manufacturers will of course only begin to become apparent as some of the promised 30,000 vehicles go on sale.
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By N2H
Very nice blog
[...] will of course simply start to become obvious as some of promise 30,000 wheels go on sale. Via You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Related [...]