Hyundai Motor chief pledges to invest US$1.1 bln in Brazil by 2032


The head of Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s leading automaker, recently visited Brazil and has pledged to invest $US1.1 billion in the South American nation by 2032, according to the company Friday.

During a courtesy call to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia on Thursday, Euisun Chung, executive chair of Hyundai Motor Group, said Hyundai’s Brazilian unit and its local partners will invest $1.1 billion in areas of green and future technologies by 2032.

Chung explained Hyundai’s electrification strategy to Lula, which encompasses electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles in order to achieve zero carbon emissions.

He stressed hydrogen energy as being a key tool for addressing climate change and an important resource that complements electrification efforts.

Hyundai Motor has operated a manufacturing plant in Piracicaba in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo since November 2012. It serves as Hyundai’s sole manufacturing base across the Central and South American region.

According to the c
ompany, Chung expressed gratitude for the Brazilian government’s continued interest and support for Hyundai Motor’s operation in Brazil and introduced various efforts by the company for employees and the local community.

He also expressed his awareness of the Brazilian government’s efforts to develop environmentally friendly energy sources as part of its carbon-free policy and stressed that Hyundai is willing to contribute to such efforts in Brazil.

Brazil has been implementing multifaceted environmentally friendly policies with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent compared with 2005 levels by 2030, under the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

Chung also explained Hyundai Motor’s efforts in areas of advanced air mobility and small modular reactors and expressed hopes for collaboration in these fields with Brazil.

Hyundai Motor said the group is expanding its global hydrogen network to Central and South America, with Brazil at the forefront. Last year, it established a dedi
cated unit for hydrogen projects in Central and South America in Brazil.