Korean car to be made for Brazilians
Valor Econômico
The car Hyundai will make in Piracicaba (SP) as of 2012 is a small model that is being especially developed for Brazil, according to the International Vice President of Hyundai, Chang Hwan Han. Yesterday afternoon the Executive visited a housing project that is being built in Jaraguá, in the North Side of São Paulo, to make a US$ 100 thousand donation for the project organized by housing NGOs.
The Executive made it clear that the project under development at Hyundai is not, as they normally hear in this industry, just another car "for emerging countries". "It is a car for Brazil", emphasized Han, who heads the American operations of the eighth largest car maker in the world. According to him, the investment, which gets to US$ 700 million in the initial phase, will soon be strengthened in order to increase the productive capacity in the new plant, initially designed for 150 thousand cars a year.
The investment in Piracicaba, which should open 2.5 thousand job positions, is in the earthmoving stage. The company should also define, within the next days, the main contractor for the undertaking. House member William Woo, of the Brazil-Korea parliamentary group, tells he has been sought by Korean groups, mainly of the autoparts sector, interested in investing in Brazil, taking advantage of the Hyundai project. Woo recalls Hyundai suppliers often get installed no more than 20 kilometers away of the maker.