The Hyundai Motor Company is a South Korean multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. The company was founded in 1967 and, along with its 32.8% owned subsidiary, Kia Motors, together comprise the Hyundai Motor Group, which is the world’s fifth largest automaker based on annual vehicle sales in 2012. In 2008, Hyundai Motor (without Kia) was ranked as the eighth largest automaker. As of 2012, the Company sold over 4.4 million vehicles worldwide in that year, and together with Kia total sales were 7.12 million.
Hyundai is currently the fourth largest vehicle manufacturer in the world, and operates the world’s largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in Ulsan, South Korea, which has an annual production capacity of 1.6 million units. The company employs about 75,000 people worldwide. The company’s vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 6,000 dealerships and showrooms.
History of Hyundai
Chung Ju-Yung founded the Hyundai Motor Company was later established in 1967. The company’s first model, the Cortina, was released in cooperation with Ford Motor Company in 1968. When they wanted to develop their own car, the company hired George Turnbull, the former Managing Director of Austin Morris at British Leyland. In 1975, the Pony, the first Korean car, was released, with styling by Giorgio Giugiaro of ItalDesign and powertrain technology provided by Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors. Exports began in the following year to Ecuador and soon thereafter to the Benelux countries.
