2024 will be challenging for Korean automakers operating in China, especially for Korean automakers like Hyundai Motor, which have made significant investments in China.
According to the latest reports, Hyundai Motor has transferred its car manufacturing plant in Chongqing to a local Chongqing company at a very low price. For 1.62 billion yuan, it was sold to a local company in Chongqing.
At that time, Hyundai spent a full 6.2 billion yuan to build this factory. Now, the price of 1.62 billion is not even a three-fold discount
This near-clearance approach reflects modern helplessness.
Hyundai's journey in China has been full of twists and turns. Just seven years ago, Hyundai Motor opened a factory in Chongqing, marking its largest investment in the Chinese market.
However, the plant's annual production capacity is only 300,000 units, which pales in comparison to Hyundai's previous annual production of 2.54 million units in China.
However, the good times did not last long. In 2017, relations between China and South Korea became tense because of the THAAD issue, which also affected the sales of Korean brand cars in China.
Coupled with the rise of China's new energy vehicle companies in recent years, Hyundai's annual sales have dropped from 1.79 million units at its peak to only 500,000 units.
Beijing Hyundai, a brand that used to sell super hot in China and is as famous as Volkswagen Toyota, is busy selling factories after entering 2024.
In fact, as early as May 2021, they sold their first factory in Shunyi District to Li Auto. That factory is the first one built by Beijing Hyundai in China.
There have been reports that Ideal is in talks with Hyundai's Chongqing plant, although this has not yet been officially confirmed by both parties
Li Auto's sales have continued to soar recently, and Li Xiang has publicly stated that the biggest challenge facing the current situation is the lack of production capacity. Therefore, Li Auto urgently needs to expand its production scale to meet market demand
Hyundai has suffered a string of setbacks in recent years
First in the Beijing market, then in St. Petersburg, Russia, and now the factory in Chongqing has to be sold, and the prospects of the Changzhou site are not optimistic.
After losing two key markets in China and Russia, Hyundai Motor was forced to make a strategic adjustment in order to survive and grow, and decided to withdraw its main business from China and Russia and focus on Southeast Asia and North America
China's automotive industry, especially in the field of electric vehicles, is growing rapidly, and it is expected that in just three to eight years, China's new energy is expected to occupy a large market share in Southeast Asia
This is a gradual encroachment strategy, and Chinese cars will inevitably squeeze the market space of Japanese and Korean cars.