Joint venture Beijing Hyundai Motor Company opened Friday in the capital's northern suburban Shunyi District. Sonata cars are scheduled to roll off the production line next month.
The Beijing Automotive Industry Holdings Co. and Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd from the Republic of Korea signed the cooperation deal in May to produce Hyundai autos in Beijing.
With a registered capital of 1.8 billion yuan (US$217 million), the joint venture is expected to rejuvenate Beijing's auto industry. Each company will hold 50 percent of the shares.
The sixth-generation Hyundai Sonatas will be the first model to be produced by the new company, a model which has already sold two million on the international market.
Xu Heyi, chairman of the board of the Beijing Hyundai, said 2,000 Sonatas will be produced this year, with an expected production of 50,000 next year.
He expects the joint venture's output to reach 250,000 by 2005.
(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2002)
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