Hyundai Motor signs $400 mln Russian plant deal
SEOUL, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), South Korea's top auto maker, signed a deal on Monday to build a $400 million car plant in northwest Russia, the company said.
Under the agreement with the governor of St. Petersburg, Hyundai is to build a plant with the annual capacity of 100,000 units, the company said in a statement.
Hyundai did not say which car models it would produce from the plant, which will be Hyundai's sixth foreign manufacturing base. The construction is set to start in the first half of 2008.
Hyundai, the world's No. 6 auto maker along with its affiliate Kia Motors Corp (000270.KS), already assembles 70,000 to 80,000 cars annually in Russia at the Taganrog car plant in southern Russia under a licence agreement.
Hyundai is one of the top five foreign car brands in Russia, where demand for new imported vehicles is being driven by rapid economic growth and increasing consumer lending.
The company sold 130,166 cars in Russia during the January-November period this year, taking a 9.1 percent share in the market, according to data from Hyundai. (Reporting by Rhee So-eui; Editing by Sei Chong)
