Hyundai announced today that it will spend $600 million to construct a factory near Sao Paolo, Brazil, in the rapidly-growing South American market. Hyundai aims to have the factory up and running in 2011 with an eventual annual production goal of 100,000 vehicles. The factory would primarily supply Brazil and Argentina.
According to Reuters, car sales in Brazil alone have risen 26.4 percent so far this year, a staggering level of growth when compared to the depressed North American and European markets. In that period, Hyundai sold triple the number of cars it had the year before for a total exceeding 36,000.
Initially, the plant would produce a flex-fuel vehicle – a huge segment of the market in Brazil. Hyundai joins General Motors, Ford , Toyota and Nissan in expanding their Brazilian presence.
