The two largest automakers in South Korea, Hyundai and Kia, estimate a rise in auto sales by 4.7 percent. This year the two automakers are relying on the sales of new models to increase their profit.
Both automakers estimate to produce 8.25 million vehicles. Hyundai will generate 5.08 million and Kia 3.17 million. This is a large increase from the 7.88 million vehicles they produced last year. The two companies hope that the introduction of new car models will put them ahead of the competition.
Both are relying on new auto plants in Mexico and China. Those two countries expect to raise the output of new sports vehicles. President-elect Donald Trump’s new policies seem to provide no precision for automakers. Trump plans to but America back on the market whether it’s making cars or steel.
What’s to come?
Hyundai experienced its first major strike in the last 12 years in 2016. This resulted in a decline in sales by 8 percent. Both companies also failed to reach the annual sales target for two years in a row. Yet the two say that new and revamped versions of vehicles are coming. Kia and Hyundai say they expect no less than ten new vehicles.
Kia plans to divulge a China-specific SUV, a Morning compact car, along with a sports sedan. Hyundai will unveil a midsize luxury sedan G70 by Genesis. Yet the rise of the small-engine tax in China posed a problem, as well as a drop in sales, for Hyundai.
China cut the small-engine levy in 2015 five percent, causing vehicle demand to escalate. Since 2016, however, the levy has risen to 7.5 percent with an expected increase to ten percent by 2018. This will slow sales grows for this year.
Hyundai sales were also hit when gas prices dropped. This prompted more Americans to buy trucks. However, China is Hyundai’s largest market and plans to introduce the Verna Yuena. The automakers hopes the plant in Cangzhou, Hebei province produces 300,000 vehicles by 2018.
As for the future, Hyundai says that it plans to invest in autonomous vehicles. The company has plans to show off its self-driving tech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas. Hyundai has also made it known that it plans to have produced a self-driving car by 2030.
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