Hyundai to Build Mid-Size Chrysler Cars : Korean Auto Maker to Use Canadian Plant to Fill Out Eagle Line
Hyundai, the South Korean auto maker, will build mid-size cars for Chrysler at Hyundai’s new Canadian assembly plant beginning in the spring of 1991, Chrysler said.
Under a preliminary agreement announced Tuesday, the South Korean firm plans to supply Chrysler with 30,000 four-door sedans a year from its plant in Bromont, Quebec. The model, which has not yet been named, will resemble Hyundai’s new mid-size Sonata and will be sold in the United States as part of Chrysler’s new Eagle line of passenger cars.
The Bromont plant opened in January and is currently building Sonata models for Hyundai’s North American distribution network.
‘World-Class Company’
Chrysler already has an indirect tie to Hyundai. Mitsubishi Motors, the Japanese car maker that is partly owned by Chrysler, is also Hyundai’s Japanese affiliate and has done extensive design and engineering work for the South Korean auto maker.
Mitsubishi owns about 15% of the South Korean concern, while Chrysler holds a 24% stake in Mitsubishi.
The Hyundai car will fill a vacancy in Eagle’s lineup that was created when Renault, the French car manufacturer, discontinued production of the North American version of the Eagle Medallion last year.
Chrysler currently has three Eagle lines: the full-size Eagle Premier sedan, the compact Eagle Summit and the yet-to-be introduced Eagle Talon sports coupe, which is expected to debut this fall.
“Hyundai is a highly respected world-class car company,” said Chrysler Chairman Lee A. Iacocca in a statement, “and the Eagle models it will build for us will serve to make our Jeep/Eagle franchise even more valuable.”
‘Strictly a Sales Agreement’
Hyundai Chairman Se-Yung Chung said in the statement that the deal would aid Hyundai’s attempts at “fully internationalizing our automotive activities.”
However, Hyundai spokesman Greg Young was quick to note that the deal was not a joint venture. “It’s strictly a sales agreement,” he said from the auto maker’s Canadian office. “We build them; they sell them.”
