Hyundai celebrated the production of the one millionth car at its manufacturing facility in Nošovice, Czech Republic, this week. The milestone was achieved after five years of production, with the first car rolling off the assembly line on November 3, 2008.
The anniversary car was a new generation i30, with the Nošovice plant also producing the Hyundai ix20 MPV and the ix35 compact SUV. The i30 is built as a 3-door, 5-door and wagon. Hyundai has invested €1.2 billion in its Czech plant, which reached an annual production of 200,000 units by 2010, following the addition of a second shift in September 2009. In 2011, a third shift was introduced, boosting annual output to 300,000 cars in 2012.
“Our Czech plant is at the heart of our European success, producing the two best-selling Hyundai models in the region and making one car every minute,” said Allan Rushforth, Senior Vice President and COO at Hyundai Motor Europe. “It’s cars such as New ix35 and New Generation i30 that have helped us achieve a record-high European market share of 3.5% in 2012,” he added.
The plant employs close to 3,500 people, with a further 7,000 working for supplier companies. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech (HMMC) has an annual turnover of €3.2 billion and pays combined annual salaries of almost €47 million.
The Nošovice plant and Hyundai’s plant in Turkey together produce 70 percent of the brand’s vehicles sold in Europe. Cars built in the Czech Republic are exported in Eastern Europe, Africa, the Carribean, Oceania and Australia, which recently became the 60th export destination for the Czech-built second-generation i30.
By Dan Mihalascu
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