Hyundai concludes Turkey plant expansion, starts rolling out the new European i10
Hyundai Motor Company has announced that it has completed the expansion of its Turkey plant, Hyundai Assan Otomotiv Sanayi (HAOS). The expansion has doubled the plant's annual capacity to 2 lakh units. It has cost an investment of $634 million (Rs 3,924 crore), which is expected to be $677 million (Rs 4,190 crore) by the end of the year. Hyundai claims it will create more than 2,700 new jobs in Turkey.
The production of the new European i10, which was unveiled at Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this month, has started at HAOS.
"HAOS will be the sole production centre of the New Generation i10, which has a strategic importance for European markets. We will continue investing more at HAOS to produce world-class quality vehicles," said Euisun Chung, vice-chairman, Hyundai Motor Company.
HAOS has now become Hyundai Motor's small car production base for Europe by adding New Generation i10 to the existing i20 production.
Established in 1997, HAOS, in Izmit, is Hyundai Motor's longest-operating manufacturing facility among seven factories outside of Korea. Originally capable of producing 60,000 units per year, the plant added 40,000 units of capacity in 2006. HAOS began producing i20 in 2010 to cover the rapidly growing demand of European customers. Now, with an annual capacity of 2,00,000 units, HAOS is a base of regional strategic importance for Hyundai Motor.
