BEIJING, CHINA - Beijing Hyundai Motor, a 50:50 joint-venture between Beijing Automotive Group and Hyundai Motor, will accelerate its pace of car assembly. Kim Tae-yun, Beijing Hyundai Motor vice president in charge of production, said, "We will add a production line capable of producing 150,000 cars a year at Beijing No. 3 plant and thereby produce a total of 1.05 million cars a year."

 

 

"Once the expansion plan is in place, the number of units produced per hour at our No. 3 plant will increase to 233 from 200. That means it will take only 15.45 second to assemble a car from 18 second now," he added. Currently the units per hour for Beijing No. 1, 2, and 3 plants are 66, 68, and 99 (after expansion). These are much higher than the numbers produced by domestic plants. For example, Production Line 2 at Ulsan No. 3 plant, which employs the same mix-product production system as Beijing Hyundai, assembles 35 cars in one hour.

 

Earlier in August, Hyundai Motor Group broke the 1-million-car-a-year milestone only 11 years after launching the Chinese operation, the shortest time ever among foreign car makers in China. Kim of Beijing Hyundai further said, "We will unveil the Mistra [Mingtu in local name], the subcompact for local customers on November 19. As we accelerate the pace of production, we will also step up our marketing effort."