Hyundai Glovis sells 30% of Polish subsidiary to Chinese company

Hyundai Glovis is selling a major stake in a European subsidiary to a Chinese company with the hope of expanding rail cargo services between Europe and China.

The logistics company, which is 4.88 percent owned by Hyundai Motor, on Wednesday announced it is selling 30 percent of Adampol, a finished vehicle logistics company based in Poland, to Beijing Changjiu Logistics for 18.3 million euros ($22 million).

Adampol and Changjiu plan to develop joint projects for transporting cargo from China to Europe.

They will start railway transportation brand Euro China Train, which they expect will cut the transit time for connecting China and Europe by rail and raise the operational efficiency.

Hyundai Glovis owns all of Adampol.

Adampol operates the Malaszewicze terminal in Poland, which is seen as a gateway between Europe and Asia. The terminal stores and transships cars.

It provides service for global automobile manufacturers, including BMW and Volkswagen. As of last year, it transported more than 900,000 automobiles, and is able to store 25,000 cars.

“As marine transportation fees have risen sharply as a result of the Covid-19, railway transportation has risen as an alternative, and the partnership is projected to demonstrate strong competitiveness,” Hyundai Glovis said in a statement. “Using our logistics know-how and Changjiu’s networks in China, we will aggressively market to European and Chinese automobile manufacturers.”

Freight charges for marine transportation to Europe jumped 170 percent in six months as of December, according to Shanghai Shipping Exchange.

Changjiu annually transports around 10,000 finished automobiles from China to Europe.

Hyundai Glovis said it plans to transport cargo other than autos, including electronic gadgets and machines.

Hyundai Glovis “will maximize the capacities of both companies through stake sales to Changjiu, and expand logistics [transportation] to Eurasia through development of cooperation,” a company spokesperson said in a statement.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]