Hyundai Motor Co.’s commercial vehicle subsidiary in China plans to upgrade a plant in Ziyang in southwest China’s Sichuan province to produce hybrid and electrified vehicles, including fuel cell and all-electric vehicles.
The subsidiary – Hyundai Truck and Bus China Co. – will invest 2.23 billion yuan ($345 million) to upgrade production facilities and add new equipment at the factory, according to information the Sichuan provincial government disclosed Wednesday.
After the upgrade, the plant will produce up to 100,000 vehicles a year by 2025.
Hyundai Truck and Bus China, previously known as Sichuan Hyundai Motor Co., was established in Ziyang in 2012 as a 50-50 joint venture between Hyundai and private Chinese truckmaker Nanjun Automotive Group.
In 2020, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai. The Ziyang plant assembles Hyundai-badged heavy-duty and light trucks. Last year, the subsidiary sold around 15,300 trucks in China.
To support local production of fuel cell vehicles, Hyundai disclosed in January it will produce fuel cell systems in the south China city of Guangzhou.
The Guangzhou factory, due to start production in the second half of 2022, can initially build 6,500 fuel cell systems per year.