Hyundai Motor is reportedly planning to build a new factory in the U.S. to meet the demand for SUVs.
The company hasn't confirmed it but industry sources say.... the plant could have the capacity to produce up to 300-thousand SUVs a year.
Kim Min-ji has the details.
Hyundai Motor will reportedly build a new production plant in the United States as cheap gas prices coupled with the economic recovery is driving demand for SUVs in the U.S. market.
Total SUV sales in the U.S. spiked 15 percent in the first two months of the year,... compared to the same period last year.
Hyundai's popular Santa Fe model saw a 20 percent hike in sales to over 16-thousand units during the same period.
Industry sources tell Korea-based Yonhap News Agency that Hyundai has finalized plans to build a new plant solely dedicated to its SUV lineup this year... with an eye on starting production in 2017.
Hyundai currently has just one plant in the U.S.... and that only produces sedans.
The sources say the plant, located near Hyundai's current Alabama plant, will have an annual capacity of 300-thousand units.
With two more plants planned in China and another currently under construction in Mexico -- all with the same capacity... Hyundai and Kia Motors' combined total production output should top nine million units by 2018... with overseas production accounting for 60-percent from the current 55-percent.
Hyundai, however, has declined to officially confirm the report... saying nothing has been decided yet.
Such a move could be seen as going against the Korean government's push to beef up facilities investment at home - to boost domestic sentiment and job growth.
Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.