Hyundai is planning on building a factory in Mexico, but only after annual domestic sales in the country rise to appropriate levels.
Bloomberg reports the automaker is waiting until annual sales exceed 50,000 before breaking ground on a factory for the Hyundai brand, per Hyundai Motor de Mexico managing director Pedro Albarran. He adds that the target could come as soon as 2018; 2014 sales totalled 12,000.
As for where it could be built, Albarran says the state of Nuevo Leon — where Kia is investing $1 billion into building a new factory of its own — would be an ideal location, and that Kia’s move to build the factory made Mexico more desirable for Hyundai, thanks to the factory attracting suppliers.
When operational, the Hyundai factory would produce over 100,000 units per year, and would include subcompacts popular in the country.
That’s an interesting metric.
It’s good for politicians, fanboys, and consumers alike to realize that companies don’t build plants out of charity; they do it to make money based upon a (supposedly) sound business model.