Tag: Hyundai Motors

This is really bizarre:

Three researchers died of suffocation during vehicle testing at a Hyundai Motor Co. plant in the southeastern city of Ulsan on Tuesday, officials said.

The three — two Hyundai researchers and the other affiliated with a subcontractor — were found collapsed at a test chamber of the plant where they were conducting a car performance test at around 3 p.m. in the day. 

They were taken to nearby hospitals but were pronounced dead, according to company officials and authorities.

The victims were presumed to have been suffocated due to toxic gas in the enclosed space, and a police investigation is under way to find the exact cause of the accident, they added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

This is not surprising considering how this trucker strike continues to drag out which is all linked to high fuel prices:

South Korean steelmaker POSCO said on Sunday will halt some of its plants in the country due to a lack of space to store finished products, which have not been shipped due to a strike by truckers who are demanding higher pay as fuel prices surge.

POSCO follows automaker Hyundai Motor in cutting production lines as the strike by thousands of truckers disrupted cargo transport at the country’s industrial hubs and major ports.

Reuters

You can read more at the link.

There have been rumors about Apple wanting to get into the car business and are apparently close to a deal with Hyundai to do just that:

Hyundai Motor and Apple Inc plan to sign a partnership deal on autonomous electric cars by March and start production around 2024 in the United States, local newspaper Korea IT News reported on Sunday.

The report follows a statement on Friday from Hyundai Motor that it was in early talks with Apple after another local media outlet said the companies aimed to launch a self-driving electric car in 2027, sending Hyundai shares up nearly 20%.

Hyundai Motor declined to comment on the report on Sunday, and reiterated Friday’s comments that it has received requests for potential cooperation from various companies on developing autonomous EVs.

Reuters

You can read more at the link.

Here is another unexpected consequences of relying on Chinese parts:

The nation’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor confirmed Tuesday it will suspend all production lines at local plants in phases due to the disruption of parts supplies from China. 

The decision follows three-hour talks between the labor union and management, and the suspension is expected to last until around Monday. 

The production shutdown is due mainly to the inventory shortage of wiring harnesses, which are mostly produced in China. Handmade wiring harnesses need to be laid on the floor of vehicles during their initial assembly. Because every car model uses a different wiring harness, inventories are not usually accumulated due to difficulties in management, industry watchers said. 

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link, but this should give Korean companies a taste of what would happen if the Chinese decided to put a squeeze on the Korean economy for political reasons.

This seems to be yet another example of the loss of confidence in the Korean economy considering that Elliott was losing money in their investment into Hyundai Motors:

New York’s Elliott Management has completely cashed out of the Hyundai Motor Group, selling all of its shares in three related auto companies.

It is estimated that the fund lost money from the holdings, holdings which may have cost $1 billion.

The sale of the shares was widely reported in the Korean press, and Financial Supervisory Service data show no Elliott Management holdings in any of the companies. Hyundai Motor would not confirm the unloading of the stake.

Local press reports say that the shares were sold before the end of last year. Elliott Management revealed its equity interests in the group in April 2018.

Recent disclosures show the fund had owned 2.9 percent of Hyundai Motor, 2.1 percent of Kia Motors and 2.6 percent of Hyundai Mobis before the sale.

The estimate of losses on the holdings is based on the fact that when Elliott first acquired the shares, they were trading at higher prices than they are now. Hyundai Motor shares were in the 150,000 won ($129) to 160,000 won range in early 2018. They are now trading at about 130,000 won.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.