Hyundai chair casts eyes abroad

The weakening Japanese yen against the Korean won is weighing heavily on the global competitiveness of the export-reliant Hyundai-Kia Motor Group, and the automaker should thus exert every effort to carve out overseas markets, its chairman, Chung Mong-koo, said yesterday.
In a meeting with executives in charge of overseas operations, Chung said, “In addition to the lower yen, technological competition from advanced automakers, rapidly gaining Chinese competitors and soaring oil prices have placed Hyundai’s global management at a critical turning point.”
The future of not only Hyundai-Kia but also its employees, their families and even the national economy all rely on overseas markets, he said. Kim Dong-jin, vice chairman of Hyundai Motor; Chung Eui-son, chief executive of Kia Motors; and chairman Chung’s son all attended.
The yen’s advance to its highest point in more than six weeks against the dollar is giving Japanese carmakers bigger profits in the United States. Such a trend allows them room to lower the price tags of their cars in the world’s largest auto market.
Hyundai is experiencing its worst-ever sales in China since its first foray there five years ago. Its first-half sales retreated 14.2 percent from a year earlier to total 124,051. Kia’s Chinese sales nosedived in June by 32.8 percent year-on-year.

By Seo Ji-eun Staff Writer [spring@joongang.co.kr]