Though having rather small geographical territory, South Korea is a big-name country on the international scene. It made progress in various spheres and in automotive industry in particular. The origins of the Korean automotive industry date back to 1955 when a businessman Choi Mu-seong manufactured the first Korean car with a prophetical name Sibal, which stands for 'the beginning'. Making no delay the Korean government took measures to support and promote the infant industry employing encouraging policy. The 1960-s became the decade when all the major South Korean car brands appeared – Kia Industry, SsangYong Motor, Hyundai and Asia Motors Company. But at that time these companies were only assembling cars from imported parts. The car manufacturers became more unassisted in the mid 1970-s and many Korean own-produced models came out.
• Major South Korean Car Manufacturers •
In the course of time the South Korean automotive industry has established itself as the 5-th largest in the world by vehicle production (about 4.5 million vehicles as of 2013) and the 5-th in terms of cars exported on the foreign market. Here are the most prominent Korean car brands:
1. Hyundai
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Founded: December 29, 1967 Founder: Chung Ju-yung Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea Parent: Hyundai Motor Group Website: www.hyundai-motor.com
The first rudiments of Hyundai history date back to 1947, but the company got its current name – Hyundai Motor Company – in 1967. It is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea and has the world's largest automobile manufacturing plant in Ulsan Metropolitan City. Hyundai began operations as an assembly plant working in close cooperation with Ford and Mitsubishi. The company made its name on the international scene with models Pony and Excel, each sparking furor in the Canadian and American market respectively. In 1988 the manufacturer produced their first model – Sonata – with the own technology thus laying foundation of technological independence. Nowadays, Hyundai is the top South Korean automaker and the 4-th largest car manufacturer in the world. It sells vehicles in 193 countries and has about 75 thousand employees worldwide.
2. Kia
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