Hyundai Motor's Brazil plant plans back on track

With the global automotive market back on its feet, Hyundai Motor has decided to restart construction of its plant in Brazil, postponed at the onset of the global financial crisis.

Construction of the plant in Piracicaba is scheduled for early next year.

Hyundai launched a branch office in the country early this month and named Managing Director Kim Seong-bae as its head.

"While traditional automobile markets like the U.S. and Europe are almost at a standstill, Brazil, along with China, is the most rapidly growing market," said a Hyundai Motor official in charge of global sales.

"We decided to rush the construction of the plant as we expect global automotive demand to return to levels seen before the global financial crisis [in the first half of 2010]."

In September 2008, Hyundai Motor signed an agreement with authorities in the state of Sao Paulo to build the plant, in which the automaker will invest a total of $600 million.

The factory will have a production capacity of 100,000 vehicles annually once completed in the second half of 2011. Most of those will be compact vehicles, including the i20, and sport utility vehicles.

The firm hopes the new facility will solidify its place as one of the world's top five automakers.

Once the plant comes on line, the combined production capability of Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia Motors will amount to a total of 6.4 million units, 3.1 million from plants in Korea and 3.3 million at overseas sites.

China is currently the largest manufacturer of Hyundai automobiles with 1.1 million units, followed by the automakers' plants in U.S., Europe and India at about 600,000 units each respectively.

Hyundai's plant in Turkey produces 200,000 vehicles a year, while 100,000 roll off the line each year at the company's facilities in Russia.