The South Korean manufacturer is seeking to compete with European rivals in a lucrative truck market
Hyundai truck Image: Hyundai Worldwide |
Hyundai Motor Co has announced it will begin producing heavy-duty trucks at its Sichuan plant as soon as early as July this year, according to a company statement.
The automaker is taking on Germany’s Daimler AG and Sweden’s Volvo AB, who are already well established in the booming market.
The facility will have a 160,000-vehicle-per-year capacity, building Trago cargo and dump trucks to cater for a growing demand for commercial vehicles, fuelled largely by an increase in urbanisation and infrastructure investment.
CAAM, China’s automotive trade organisation, reported sales of medium and heavy duty trucks grew by 21% from 2012 levels to 770,000 vehicles last year and is likely to continue to rise steadily through 2014.
Hyundai is aiming to achieve annual commercial vehicle sales of 400,000 units globally by 2020, capitalising on increased growth in China, Turkey and the US.