Phl is Hyundai's most important mart in Asean

DUBAI, UAE - The Philippines is the most important country in the ASEAN for Hyundai Motor Co. because it has the largest monthly sales volume, a ranking company official said yesterday.

However, in spite of the big demand in the Philippines Hyundai will still not put up a manufacturing facility in the country.

In an interview on the sidelines of the 2011 Accent Test Drive Dubai, Hyundai general manager for Marketing and Product Planning in the Asia & Pacific Regional Headquarters Jin Young Park said that the Philippines is “the best, most important country to us.”

“The sales target (for the Philippines) is biggest in the region and the monthly sales volume is the number one in the region,” Park said.

Hyundai vehicles sold in the Philippines are imported from Korea and India. Park said that even though the Philippines is a good market, they still cannot commit to building a manufacturing plant in the Philippines.

“We want to invest more in the CKD (completely knocked down) product but at the moment we have no plan to add more factory. Brazil is the last one for now,” Park said.

“Many of our competitors own their factory in the ASEAN but there are many aspects to consider before putting up a plant,” he added.

As an importer of vehicles, Hyundai is paying a 30 percent most favored nation (MFN) tariff. “There are certain barriers in the Philippines and it would be better to get rid of some,” Park said. The MFN is expected to be lifted as a result of the economic partnership agreement between the ASEAN and Korea.

Meanwhile, Accent Product Manager Kyoung Tae Kim said that the seventh generation Accent took five years to build. The new Accent is expected to sell 500,000 units worldwide.

The new Accent continues Hyundai Motor’s fluidic sculpture design philosophy that injects sophistication and dynamic angles as well as elegant lines resembling a calligrapher’s “orchid strokes” into the shape of a vehicle. The new Accent is built on a 2,570mm platform, which is 70mm longer than the previous model, offering more space and comfort for front and rear seat passengers. The new Accent delivers class-leading luggage capacity that is wide enough to fit four golf bags and three overnight bags.

The all-new Accent will be powered by the new-generation Gamma engine, 1.6L or 1.4L DOHC in-line four-cylinder gasoline engines that feature multiport fuel injection with CVVT (Continuously Variable Valve Timing).