Hyundai makes meteoric arrival to Brazil

In the last three years, few companies have as much as the Hyundai car consumption in climbing and in demand generated by infrastructure projects and civil construction in Brazil. A discrete only in the country – bookmarked by most products imported or manufactured by local representatives, the Koreans began to quickly replicate in the Brazilian market the conglomerate model built for more than six decades in Asia.
In just three years and with investments in the $ 900 million, Hyundai has established itself in Brazil as a manufacturer of cars and construction machines, and take their flag in the sector of shipbuilding in a society on the site of OSX, entrepreneur Eike Batista, in the North of Rio de Janeiro. Now, the Group launches the manufacture of elevators in Rio Grande do Sul and presents itself as one of the stakeholders in the supply of equipment to the bullet train project in Brazil-the TAV, which will connect Campinas, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Founded in the late 40 as a family construction company, Hyundai has expanded its businesses to a number of industrial activities over the next few years, but, with the Asian crisis of 1997, went through divisions that gave rise to several groups operating independently from each other-despite carrying the same brand. Most of them, with annual sales of over US $ 76 billion, the Hyundai Motor Group took the automotive operations--including automakers Hyundai and Kia Motors, in addition to business in the areas of rail and steel equipment.
Hyundai Heavy Industries-with revenues of nearly $ 23 billion-met shipbuilding activities, industrial engineering and construction machines. The remaining business, which were not separated, continued under the Hyundai Group, the company that gave birth to the Group and who is now a diversified activities ranging from financial services to hotels and elevator Assembly.
In Brazil, the onslaught of Hyundai obeys this separation in organizations. That is, although arrive almost at the same time, they have no direct relationships between them. However, the entry into the country strategies are common point alliances with local groups that know the market.
Before you shell out $ 700 million to build a car factory in Piracicaba (SP), Hyundai delivered to businessman Carlos Alberto de Oliveira Andrade, owner of the group, started its task to introduce the brand in the country. Similarly, Hyundai Heavy Industries-heavy industry arm-joined the BMC, traditional distributor of machines, to invest $ 180 million in a factory of excavators in Itatiaia (RJ), officially opened last month.
Even with the start of local production, the following responsible for importing started its cars from Hyundai, as well as for the production of utilities in Goiás. The BMC, in turn, makes the distribution of machines produced in Cavite, after helping the Koreans to implement the project, including funding negotiations of half of the investment with the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES).
In the automotive sector, the return has happened faster than imagined. In just seven months, Hyundai managed to put the HB20 among the four best-selling cars in the country. Including on account of the vehicles sold by the brand already has started its 5.8% of sales of cars in Brazil-halfway to reach the goal of 10% and exceed Ford in fourth position in the Brazilian market.
The Group's entry strategy also included successive exchanges of senior executives of the subsidiary for each phase of development of the company in the country. In two years in Brazil, Hyundai had three Presidents. William Lee is who is in charge since January this year to consolidate the company's foray as a popular brand of car.
Now, the bet is that the meteoric success in the automotive segment to repeat with the brand lifts production, imported by here a year ago. On a plot of 150 thousand square meters in São Leopoldo (RS), the Hyundai will install its first plant outside Asia, as had already occurred in construction machinery business. According to City Hall, the earthworks on the ground has already started and is expected to be inaugurated in the first quarter of 2014, with investments estimated at $ 30 million.
In the first year, Hyundai sold about 500 lifts in the country. The factory will have capacity to produce 3 thousand units at full capacity. The goal is to snatch up 20% of the market and fight with the brands that dominate the sector-Atlas Schindler and ThyssenKrupp, Otis.