HYUNDAI Motor Co said yesterday it plans to build a factory in Russia, though key details including the location of the plant and size of the investment remain undecided.
Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Mong-koo disclosed the plan in a meeting with Russian government officials in Moscow on Friday, said Hyundai spokesman Ki Jin-ho.
Chung said the factory will have an annual capacity of 100,000 vehicles, according to Ki. Where the factory will be built and how much it costs will be determined later, he said.
Demand for autos is growing fast in Russia and Hyundai needs to respond, Ki said.
Hyundai now has factories in China, India, Turkey and the United States, with another under construction in the Czech Republic.
The auto maker, the world's sixth largest, produces vehicles in cooperation with a Russian partner by exporting kits for local assembly.
Ki said Hyundai is the biggest seller of foreign vehicles in Russia. In October, Hyundai sold 16,489 vehicles, an increase of 92 percent from the same period last year.
The auto maker sold 100,685 vehicles in Russia last year, with about half the total consisting of vehicles assembled in the country.
Hyundai had foreshadowed last month that it was considering a factory in Russia.