DaimlerChrysler is to sell the 10.5 per cent stake it bought in Hyundai four years ago for an estimated $1 billion – more than twice what it paid. This is another reversal for DaimlerChrysler’s Asian strategy, as only last week the company announced that it would not inject further funds into Mitsubishi, where DaimlerChrysler holds a 37 per cent stake.
In the USA, JD Power has carried out a study of new vehicles and their defect rates, polling 51,000 owners of new cars in the first 90 days of ownership. Those marques scoring above the industry average of defects per 100 vehicles were Toyota, Honda, Hyundai and BMW. Hyundai fared better than Toyota for the first time, with respective scores of 102 and 104. However, it should be noted that the Toyota score does not include the Lexus Division, which once again proved to be the top-quality vehicle.
Hankook Tire Manufacturing Co Ltd is considering investing up to 500 million Dolars to build a plant in the Czech Republic. This follows the decision of Hyundai to build cars in Slovakia. The area is rapidly becoming the centre of the new European automotive industry. Hankook Tire may be looking at other countries in the region but they are clearly considering the Czech Republic as an option. Hyundai announced on Tuesday that it will set up its factory in the north western city of Zilina, about 30 km from the border with the Czech Republic, where a number of foreign car part makers are already present.
Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. (Nasdaq: HAYZ) announced that its Commercial Highway Division received a multi-product agreement with Hyundai Translead. Hayes Lemmerz will supply all standard wheel-end components for all of Hyundai Translead’s dry freight vans, refrigerated trailers, chassis and converter dollies for the agreement term. The agreement includes CentruMount(R) steel wheels, and Cast Hub and Drums and Centrifuse(R) Drums. This announcement continues to support the Commercial Highway Division’s goal of providing high quality, lightweight wheel-end systems to the truck and trailer industry, improving fuel economy and increasing revenue producing payload.
SmarTire Systems has announced results for the first fiscal quarter ended October 31, 2003. Gross revenue for the first quarter totalled 427,526 US dollars, an increase of 29,937 US dollars over the same quarter in fiscal 2003. SmarTire recorded a quarterly net
loss of 3.26 million US dollars compared to a net loss of 2.07 million US dollars. “Our first quarter results were affected by an inventory shortage caused in part to transitioning the manufacturing of our products to Hyundai Autonet (HACO),” says Robert Rudman, President and Chief Executive Officer of SmarTire Systems. “HACO is quickly finalizing its production line and is preparing a build of SmarTire TPMS products to fill the backlog of orders booked but not shipped in Q1.”
Hyundai has announced that it will raise prices of its vehicles by around three per cent, starting next month. The company says that the increase is necessary, as rising prices of steel and tyres have put pressure on production costs.
SmarTire has signed a contract manufacturing services agreement with Hyundai Autonet Company (HACO), a Korean automotive electronics company, whereby HACO will manufacture SmarTire’s tyre pressure monitoring systems for global sale and distribution by SmarTire. HACO is a subsidiary of the Hyundai Group.
SmarTire Systems Inc’s strategic partner, Hyundai Autonet Company has been contracted by Hyundai Motor Corporation to develop commercial vehicle tyre pressure monitoring systems.
SmarTire Systems, the manufacturer of tire pressure and temperature monitoring technology (TPMS), has signed an agreement with Hyundai Autonet Co. to develop, manufacture and distribute TPMS products to the Korean OE and replacement markets.
Hyundai, DaimlerChrysler and Mitsubishi are said to have held talks exploring ways to jointly develop and purchase parts. The procurement talks were held in Hyundai’s Seoul HQ and covered parts purchased in the US, Japan and Europe in addition to South Korea.
Hyundai is considering a joint venture with DaimlerChrysler, said president Kim Dong-jin, and will make a decision by October. DCX would pay US$ 418.5 million in cash and Hyundai would offer its Jeonju plant as part of the j.v. If the deal gets approval, it could go ahead from January next year.
Today sees the ground-breaking ceremony for Hyundai’s first car assembly plant in the USA. It is sited in Montgomery, Alabama and represents an investment of $1 billion. The factory on the 1,600 acre site will employ 2,000 people and produce 300,000 saloons and SUVs a year by 2005. Alabama offered incentives of over $252 million to attract Hyundai and the Korean company joins Honda and Toyota as foreign car companies with plants in the state.
Automotive analysts, Autopolis predict a 13 per cent fall in the European car market (from 1999 peak level, in the next 18 months. The claim is based on the European trend showing first in Scandinavian markets, Greece and the Netherlands. Danish demand has already fallen by 40 per cent, Finland by 20 per cent and Greece by 29 per cent in the last year. Economic conditions reinforce the prediction, which would see the market drop by 1.9million units by 2003. Autopolis expects recovery in late 2003, but that there will be little long-term growth till 2010, with Toyota and Hyundai making the greatest gains, whilst smaller producers lose share.
A spokesman for Hyundai said on 12th June that the company is considering a takeover of Daewoo, together with DaimlerChrysler
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