the hyundai motor company subsidiary . for the hyundai motor group a group of companies see hyundai motor group . hyundai motor company native name type public traded as krx 005380 industry automotive founded december 29 1967 ; 48 years ago 1967 12 29 founder chung ju yung headquarters seoul south korea area served worldwide key people chung mong koo chairman & ceo products automobiles commercial vehicles engines production output 4 962 million units 2014 1 revenue us 76 billion 2014 2 net income us 6.5 billion 2014 3 total assets us 125.6 billion 2014 4 total equity us 53.4 billion 2014 5 number of employees 104 731 2013 6 parent hyundai motor group divisions genesis kia subsidiaries list hyundai translead hyundai motor india hyundai motor of north america hyundai motor america hyundai of canada hyundai motor of south america hyundai do brasil hyundai china beijing hyundai hyundai japan hyundai motor europe website hyundai.com hyundai motor company hangul hanja revised romanization hyeondae jadongcha mccune reischauer hy ndae chatongch a this article contains korean text . without proper rendering support you may see question marks boxes or other symbols instead of hangul and hanja . the hyundai motor company hangul ; hanja ; rr hyeondae jadongcha listen ; hangul ; hanja ; mr hy ndae ipa hj nd 7 modernity ; krx 005380 is a south korean multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in seoul south korea . the company was founded in 1967 and along with its 32.8 % owned subsidiary kia motors together comprise the hyundai motor group which is the world s fifth largest automaker based on annual vehicle sales in 2012 update . 8 9 needs update in 2008 hyundai motor without kia was ranked as the eighth largest automaker . 10 hyundai sold 4.4 million vehicles worldwide in 2012 11 and with kia total sales were 7.12 million . 12 hyundai is the fourth largest vehicle manufacturer in the world . hyundai operates the world s largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility 13 in ulsan south korea which has an annual production capacity of 1.6 million units . the company employs about 75 000 people worldwide . hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 5 000 dealerships and showrooms . 14 genesis motors is the luxury car branch of hyundai . 15 contents 1 history 1.1 research and development 1.2 business 2 design emphasis 3 regional operations 3.1 north america 3.1.1 usa 3.1.2 canada 3.1.3 mexico 3.1.4 panama & dominican republic 3.2 south america 3.2.1 brazil 3.3 asia 3.3.1 china 3.3.1.1 beijing hyundai 3.3.1.2 hawtai partnership 3.3.1.3 commercial vehicles 3.3.2 india 3.3.3 japan 3.3.4 philippines 3.3.5 turkey 3.4 europe 3.4.1 germany 3.4.2 czech republic 3.4.3 russia 3.5 africa 3.5.1 southern africa 3.5.2 egypt 3.5.3 libya 3.6 oceania 3.6.1 australia 3.6.2 new zealand 4 electric and hybrid vehicles 5 environmental record 6 motorsport 7 model lineup 7.1 sedans hatchbacks and sports cars 7.2 suvs and vans 7.3 commercial vehicles 8 concept car 9 marketing 9.1 live brilliant 9.2 corporate social responsibility 9.3 sports sponsorship 9.4 popemobile 9.5 other sponsorships 10 controversies 10.1 inflated fuel economy numbers 10.2 wrongly advertised engine and horsepower 10.3 marketing controversy 11 see also 12 references 13 external links history the world s largest automobile manufacturing plant in ulsan south korea produces over 1.6 million vehicles annually . chung ju yung founded the hyundai engineering and construction company in 1947 . hyundai motor company was later established in 1967 . the company s first model the cortina was released in cooperation with ford motor company in 1968 . 16 when hyundai wanted to develop their own car they hired george turnbull in february 1974 the former managing director of austin morris at british leyland . he in turn hired five other top british car engineers . they were kenneth barnett body design engineers john simpson and edward chapman john crosthwaite ex brm as chassis engineer and peter slater as chief development engineer . 17 18 19 20 in 1975 the pony the first korean car was released with styling by giorgio giugiaro of italdesign and powertrain technology provided by japan s mitsubishi motors . exports began in the following year to ecuador and soon thereafter to the benelux countries . in 1984 hyundai exported the pony to canada but not to the united states because the pony didn t pass emissions standards there . canadian sales greatly exceeded expectations and it was at one point the top selling car on the canadian market . in 1985 the one millionth hyundai car was built . 21 in 1986 hyundai began to sell cars in the united states and the excel was nominated as best product 10 by fortune magazine largely because of its affordability . the company began to produce models with its own technology in 1988 beginning with the midsize sonata . in the spring of 1990 aggregate production of hyundai automobiles reached the four million mark . 21 in 1991 the company succeeded in developing its first proprietary gasoline engine the four cylinder alpha and also its own transmission thus paving the way for technological independence . in 1996 hyundai motor india limited was established with a production plant in irungattukottai near chennai india . 22 in 1998 hyundai began to overhaul its image in an attempt to establish itself as a world class brand . chung ju yung transferred leadership of hyundai motor to his son chung mong koo in 1999 . 23 hyundai s parent company hyundai motor group invested heavily in the quality design manufacturing and long term research of its vehicles . it added a 10 year or 100 000 mile 160 000 km warranty to cars sold in the united states and launched an aggressive marketing campaign . in 2004 hyundai was ranked second in initial quality in a survey study by j.d. power and associates . citation needed clarification needed hyundai is now one of the top 100 most valuable brands worldwide . according to whom since 2002 hyundai has also been one of the worldwide official sponsors of the fifa world cup . in 2006 the south korean government initiated an investigation of chung mong koo s practices as head of hyundai suspecting him of corruption . on 28 april 2006 chung was arrested and charged for embezzlement of 100 billion south korean won us 106 million . 24 as a result hyundai vice chairman and ceo kim dong jin replaced him as head of the company . on 30 september 2011 yang seung suk announced his retirement as ceo of hyundai motor co. in the interim replacement period chung mong koo and kim eok jo will divide the duties of the ceo position . 25 research and development hyundai has six research and development centres located in korea three offices germany japan and india . additionally a centre in california develops designs for the united states . 26 hyundai has made an app with augmented reality showing users how to operate and maintain vehicles . 27 business see also hyundai in 1998 after a shake up in the korean auto industry caused by overambitious expansion and the asian financial crisis hyundai acquired the majority of rival kia motors . hyundai owns 33.88 % of kia . 28 in 2000 the company established a strategic alliance with daimlerchrysler and severed its partnership with the hyundai group . in 2001 the daimler hyundai truck corporation was formed . in 2004 however daimlerchrysler divested its interest in the company by selling its 10.5 % stake for 900 million . hyundai has invested in manufacturing plants in north america india the czech republic russia china and turkey as well as research and development centres in europe asia north america and the pacific rim . in 2004 hyundai motor company had 57.2 billion in sales in south korea making it the country s second largest corporation or chaebol . worldwide sales in 2005 reached 2 533 695 units an 11 percent increase over the previous year . in 2011 hyundai sold 4.05 million cars worldwide and the hyundai motor group was the world s fourth largest automaker behind gm volkswagen and toyota . 29 30 hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 5 000 dealerships . design emphasis in 2006 hyundai hired thomas b rkle as head of the company s design center in russelsheim germany . b rkle had previously worked for bmw having designed the bmw 3 series e46 and the bmw 6 series e63 . 31 32 hyundai s current design philosophy is known as fluidic sculpture 33 which is heavily inspired by nature . 34 regional operations north america the hyundai genesis named the 2009 north american car of the year . the 6th generation hyundai sonata was awarded top safety pick from insurance institute for highway safety iihs in the united states . 35 the hyundai elantra was crowned north american car of the year at the 2012 detroit auto show . the hyundai tiburon also known as the tuscani in south korea and as the coupe in great britain . it was discontinued in 2008 . the 2012 hyundai veloster is a compact 3 door sports car first produced in 2011 as a replacement for the discontinued hyundai tiburon . the hyundai tucson also known as ix35 in europe and brazil from second generation . hyundai santa fe was awarded the top pick by consumer reports in 2008 . a hyundai universe space luxury the latest modern coach by hyundai . successor to the hyundai aero . usa hyundai motor america began selling cars in the united states on 20 february 1986 with a single model the hyundai excel which was offered in a variety of trims and body styles . that year hyundai set a record of selling the most automobiles in its first year of business in the united states compared to any other car brand ; total sales in 1986 were 168 882 . initially well received the excel s faults soon became apparent ; cost cutting measures caused reliability to suffer . with an increasingly poor reputation for quality hyundai sales plummeted and many dealerships either earned their profits on repairs or abandoned the product . at one point hyundai became the butt of many jokes i.e. hyundai stands for hope you understand nothing s driveable and inexpensive and even made david letterman s top ten hilarious mischief night pranks to play in space no. 8 paste a hyundai logo on the main control panel . 36 in response hyundai began investing heavily in the quality design manufacturing and long term research of its vehicles . it added a 10 year or 100 000 mile 160 000 km powertrain warranty known as the hyundai advantage to its vehicles sold in the united states . by 2004 sales had dramatically increased and the reputation of hyundai cars improved . in 2004 hyundai tied with honda for initial brand quality in a survey study from j.d. power and associates for having 102 problems per 1000 vehicles . this made hyundai second in the industry only behind toyota for initial vehicle quality . the company continued this tradition by placing third overall in j.d. power s 2006 initial quality survey behind only porsche and lexus . 37 hyundai is ranked number 4 in world s most admired companies under the motor vehicles section of cnn after bmw bayerische motoren werke volkswagen and daimler in 2011 . hyundai continues to invest heavily in its american operations as its cars grow in popularity . in 1990 hyundai established the hyundai design center in fountain valley california . the center moved to a new 30 million facility in irvine california in 2003 and was renamed the hyundai kia motors design and technical center . besides the design studio the facility also housed hyundai america technical center inc. hatci established in 1986 a subsidiary responsible for all engineering activities in the u.s. for hyundai .