Hyundai Motor Company celebrated today, November 13, the laying of the foundation stone of the new electric vehicle production plant in the Ulsan complex, the heart of Korea's automotive industry. The new plant will support the company's growth in the era of electrification while bringing the dream of Hyundai's founder expressed more than half a century ago into the future.
Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro (GFG Style Chairman and CEO) attended the groundbreaking ceremony in addition to Hyundai's highest officials and representatives of the government and local institutions.
The presence of Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro underscores the role and importance of the relationship with Hyundai Motor Company, which now dates back 50 years, with the creation of the Pony prototype and the Pony Coupe. Just this year, to celebrate this important milestone in a collaboration that is still alive and fruitful and projected into the future, the prototype of the Pony Coupe was rebuilt at the GFG Style advanced style center from the original drawings and presented at an exclusive event last May 18 at the beautiful Villa Pliniana on Lake Como, then displayed at the Hyundai museum in South Korea, and in the end brought to Ulsan for this important occasion.
At the new plant, Hyundai will harness 56 years of history, automotive know-how and technological capabilities to continue to innovate and support - even in the era of energy transition - a collective progress that puts people at the center. In fact, the Hyundai plant in Ulsan began in 1968 as an assembly plant for the Pony, and has grown by leaps and bounds in an incredibly short period of time, thanks to the commercial success of this model. Pony's mass production was also a lever to foster technological independence, leading to the localization of automotive component production where the company had previously been dependent on foreign markets. It has also led to the development of domestic automotive production technology.
The dedicated electric vehicle plant in Ulsan will be built on the site of the former Hyundai test center, a location that was first used in the 1980s when the company was actively seeking to expand into overseas markets, developing vehicles that could withstand different terrains and climates around the world.
At this historic site, Hyundai developed many other models, including a number of other Giugiaro-signed designs such as Pony Excel, Presto, Stella, and the first and second generation Sonata.