Hyundai Motor Company

Hyundai Motor Company is a South Korean automaker. Founded in 1967, Hyundai, its wholely-owned subsidiary Genesis Motor, and its 32.8%-owned subsidiary Kia Motors comprise the Hyundai Motor Group.

While Hyundai used to be compete primarily on affordability, in recent years its models have gone up-market in terms of design, technology, and comfort, while retaining the edge on price.

The company's first car, the Cortina, was released in cooperation with Ford in 1968. In the 1970s, Hyundai hired the former MD of Austin Morris at British Leyland and top British car engineers. This led to the first South Korean car, the Pony. Hyundai also started exporting its vehicles.

In the 1980s, Hyundai began selling cars in the British and North American markets. In 1991, Hundai developed its first proprietary gasoline entry, the four-cylinder Alpha, and its own transmission.

Since the end of the 1990s, Hyundai began to overhaul its image and invested heavily in the quality, design, manufacturing, and long-term research of its vehicles.