Hyundai CEO: 80% of Cars Bought Here Will Be Built Here
Hyundai CEO John Krafcik told CNNMoney yesterday he expects four out of every five Hyundai models sold in the U.S. to be built here by the end of next year. That includes the redesigned Elantra, which is slated to move to the automaker's Montgomery, Ala., plant from its current production in Korea; this would put Hyundai atop the automotive pile in terms of the percentage of cars bought here that are built here, CNNMoney reports.
That's not to say Hyundai's U.S. footprint eclipses the Detroit Three.
Still, it's good to see Hyundai building cars here, if primarily to facilitate nimbler supply lines and hedge against currency fluctuations. So, why are both models' domestic parts content — 41% for the 2011 Sonata and 40% for the 2010 Santa Fe — so low? Neither one is eligible for inclusion in Cars.com's annual American-Made Index, which rates vehicles built and bought in the U.S. For the index, we look at a car’s sales, where its parts come from and whether the car is assembled in the U.S. We set the domestic parts content minimum at 75 percent.
Burns concedes the numbers are low, but said it's likely to improve since Hyundai began installing transmissions several months ago from a plant at the West Point facility. Engines for the Santa Fe and non-hybrid Sonata already come from the U.S., in this case an engine plant on the Montgomery site.
"A lot of the smaller electronic components will come from Korea," Burns said. "But your seats, headliners, bumper fascias ... front-end assemblies, the radiator and lights are all made in the good old U.S.A. [Domestic parts content is] slowly but surely easing its way up."
Slowly indeed: The Sonata's domestic parts content increased 1% from 2010 to 2011. We'll have to wait until new domestic parts content figures arrive for 2012 to see if Hyundai’s numbers rise any higher. In the meantime, both cars — plus the Elantra — will have a long way to go to hit 75%.
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Oh no, why would they take jobs away from the hard working Koreans and send them to the US, this is another horrible example of the globalization of businesses, Koreans need to protest this to help protect the manufacturing workers in Korea, it’s just not fair!
Because Korean's Union are...well, WERE, far stronger and far more extreme than the UAW. I mean, when's the last time u saw/heard riots in Detroit?
I don't like globalization as well, since it is, in the root of thgs, just a rich person's way of earning even more money by exploiting both sides of the planet. But hey, what can u do? Even if there is a group mass, NOTHING, 'coz money is the common language of the world. So upgrade urself, and make people need u, instead of u need them...
I think it will continue to climb because of the appreciate of the won and depreciation of the dollar. One day they might ship cars from here to China if the yuan comes to true valuation. Supposily there won't be a currency war so the U.S. won't win.
interesting numbers for those Hyundai models. price war might also raise in the market as days go on..!