South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. said Thursday that it has signed
an agreement with a Turkish automotive firm to jointly produce light commercial
vehicles in a bid to tap deeper into the European market.
Under the
deal with Karsan, vans, trucks and minibuses will be produced at the Turkish
firm's plant in Bursa, some 100 kilometers south of its capital Istanbul,
starting in 2014, the South Korean carmaker said in a statement. A total of
200,000 units will be produced by 2021.
Hyundai said the cars produced
by Karsan will be shipped in complete knock-down (CKD) kits as the parts for the
vehicles will be supplied from South Korea.
Karsan is a Turkish light
commercial vehicle maker in cooperation with global automakers, including
Peugeot SA and Hyundai.
Hyundai expects the Hyundai-Karsan deal to
gain a foothold in Europe's commercial vehicle market.
"We are
stepping up to make inroads into the European light commercial market, which is
one of the world's largest," said the company. "We will complete a full lineup
for commercial vehicles in Europe and become a leading brand in the
category."
Hyundai said it will expand production lines for minibuses
and trucks also in China and the United States, seeking to become the world's
second-largest commercial vehicle maker with estimated sales of 400,000 units by
2020.