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Hyundai’s Russia Plant On-Schedule
(Saint Petersburg, Russia) Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Russia (HMMR), a wholly-owned subsidiary of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company, held a test operation for its stamping line today, confirming that all plans are on-schedule for the automaker’s sixth overseas manufacturing base.
About 100 dignitaries, suppliers and media members attended the test operation ceremony, including the Governor of Saint Petersburg Mr. Matvienko V.I., Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Russian Federation and Hyundai Motor Co. Vice Chairman Mr. Shin Jong-Woon. HMMR is the first foreign plant in the Russian Federation to install a stamping line.
“We will stick to the basics to stay focused on producing safe, high-quality cars for our Russian consumers. We are confident HMMR will meet - and exceed- consumers’ needs and today’s test operation is where it all begins,” said Mr. Ahn Joo-Soo, General Director of HMMR.
Hyundai Motor made the decision to construct the approximately 500 million euro-plant according to a full production cycle, starting from pressing blank steel and stamping body parts to welding, painting and assembly. Having a stamping shop will help HMMR securing car components at the earliest stages of production. Today’s test involved four stamping presses with an aggregate capacity of 5,100 tons.
The opening of HMMR is on-schedule to begin in September 2010, while production is planned to begin in January next year. At the end of 2011, the company aims to reach the plant’s maximum production capacity of 100,000 cars a year, with prospects of further increasing the amount to 150,000 units.
