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The History of Hyundai

Hyundai was founded in 1947 by Jeong Joo-yeong. The company's name is translated from Korean as 'modernity'. Hyundai Company went through stages of formation from a small car repair shop to the largest South Korean holding company specializing in various areas of mechanical engineering. On its account Hyundai produced ships, machine tools, locomotives, steel, electronics and cars. In addition to all this company was engaged in construction and petrochemical industries. The company Hyundai has become involved in the automobile industry in the late 60s. Initially, the plant was an assembly of cars under the brand Ford on the contract with the British. The assembly line of South Korean factory included Ford Granada and light-duty truck Ford D-750. Hyundai Company had not own production vehicles yet. Hyundai's management was outraged at this state of affairs. Not surprisingly, in 1973 the company began developing and a little later the production of their own cars. The Hyundai design department was opened. In 1976, together with Mitsubishi Motors has been created the first passenger car - Hyundai Pony. The design was done by ItalDesign company headed by Giorgio Giugiaro. The model was first shown to the public at the Turin Motor Show, and caused a real furore. Journalists in their articles praised the design solutions, praised the elegant design of the model. Hyundai Pony was very popular in the domestic market. Hyundai Motor Company has taken a leading position in Korean automobile industry. A little later, Hyundai Pony model cars were exported to foreign markets under the name Hyundai Exel.

In the following decades the Korean economy grew at a record pace. All the world newspapers wrote about the Korean 'economic miracle'. Hyundai also kept pace with the overall development of the state. Hyundai Motor Company's management was increasing production capacity and mastering new industries. Hyundai Shipbuilding Division of the company brought Korea to the second position among the states involved in shipbuilding. Thanks to rapid economic growth, Hyundai expanded the production capacity of its plant in Ulsan. This was a catalyst for large-scale production and the creation of its own technology. By the mid-1980s the Canadian automobile market had been developed. At the same time, Hyundai Motor Company was trying to break into the most profitable, but at the same time the most demanding market - the U.S. market. For this purpose, a number of models have been adapted to transoceanic standards. Along with this, the development of compact models has not stopped. By 90-ies Hyundai Motor Company has hit the high society, and took its place among the world players in the automotive industry. More than one million Hyundai vehicles were exported to the U.S. market alone. In the fall of 1988, the Hyundai Sonata made its debut.

The model was upgraded twice: the first time in 1993, the second time in 1998. The car was equipped with an engine made under license from Mitsubishi. However, the company sought to equip its cars entirely with its own components and units. Thus, in 1991, the Alpha engine, designed by its own forces, was released. The engine had a capacity of 1.5 liters. In 1993, the Beta engine appears. In 1990, the Lantra model was introduced on the European market (in the domestic market it was sold under the name Elantra).

The model was developed on the basis of the first generation Mitsubishi Pajero. Production of SUVs was carried out under license from Mitsubishi Motors. The company has constantly sought to strengthen its position in the automobile markets of the world. In many ways, this is why the company opened a design studio in California, called Hyundai California Design, and in early 1992 shows its first concept car HCD-I to the world. This concept car started a tradition of original concept designs. In the same year the Hyundai HCD-II sports coupe was presented. This model was made in small quantity and oriented to buyers who were interested in prestigious cars, but considered such European models as very expensive. In September 1994 the company introduced a new generation of X-3 called Accent. In 1999 the European Hyundai Accent of the second generation was presented. Do not forget to use Hyundai VIN decoder in order to avoid potential problems when buying a used car.




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