Korean car giant Hyundai has been making huge strides into our market. With a history that stretches back nearly two decades, the brand is firmly entrenched in SA. Now it seems that the automaker will soon start to produce models on local soil.
Assembly of medium commercials has already started at a plant on the Gauteng’s East Rand. According to Hyundai spokesperson Deon Sonnekus: “Right now we are assembling models from SKD (semi-knock down) kits. We can’t reveal too much more about our plans ahead of the plant’s official launch early in September.”
We currently source some of the local Hyundai line-up from another third world and RHD market, India, thanks to favourable labour rates in that country.
Considering the recent spate of strike action in the motoring and metal workers industry, setting up a new plant in SA is a very big vote of confidence for the South African economy and the motor industry at large. Perhaps Hyundai sees South Africa as the entry point into the African market and this assembly plant is just phase one of a larger plan to begin full scale production in South Africa.