Hyundai Mobis opens new test driving center in China

Hyundai Mobis, the nation’s largest auto parts maker, said yesterday that it opened a vehicle test driving center in northeastern China as part of its effort to improve the quality of its products in cold weather conditions.

The affiliate of Hyundai Motor Group said the driving center, which is 125 kilometers from Heihe in Heilongjiang Province, covers about 3 million square meters and is equipped with various tracks and facilities. Hyundai Mobis said that temperatures at the site can fall as low as minus 42 degrees Celsius (minus 43 Fahrenheit).

Because of extreme conditions, global auto parts manufacturers like Continental and TRW have also been running similar test facilities.

Hyundai Mobis runs cold weather test driving centers in Sweden and New Zealand but decided to open another center in China in a bid to boost the sales of its affiliate, Hyundai Motor, and Kia Motors. The data collected from the center will be sent to its research and development center in Shanghai and its plant in Wuxi.