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Hyundai Motor Co. will actively promote the development of environment-friendly future type vehicles. Hyundai will introduce the mass production of hybrid model cars around the second half of next year and install production facilities for fuel cell cars by the end of 2009. In particular, Hyundai will invest W1 trillion in the environment-friendly vehicle sector and work to improve the numbers of those who order the vehicle.
Hyundai said on Sunday, ¡°We are considering ways to embark on mass production for a hybrid version of the new 'MC,' which would follow the ¡®Verna,¡¯ around the second half of 2005. By the end of 2009, we will install production facilities that can produce 10,000 fuel cell cars a year and will start mass production from the year 2010.¡± Hyundai plans to produce trial hybrid models for the small sized car ¡°Click¡± by the end of this year and will receive responses from consumers. By the end of next year when ¡°MC¡± is released, the hybrid model of ¡°MC¡± would be sold as well.
¡°Click¡± is the first hybrid car to be produced in Korea for actual travel purposes rather than as a concept car and ¡°MC¡± will be the first mass-produced hybrid car in Korea. Hyundai has the developed FGV-1 in 1995, FGV-2, Avante, Verna and County Bus hybrid cars as concept cars.
Hyundai plans to finish its fuel cell car production facilities to produce 10,000 vehicles yearly by the end of 2009, start mass production from 2010, and ensure the commodity values of fuel cell cars in the future. The fuel cell cars will be applied to the Santa Fe and Tucson model first and be expanded to other models.
Hyundai decided to invest W1 trillion in developing facilities and environment-friendly technology for cars for three years from 2005 to 2007 and will increase human resources in R&D to 10,000 from the current 6,200 people.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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