- Hyundai has built its 100 millionth car.
- To celebrate, the South Korean carmaker has delivered its 100 millionth and first vehicle directly to a customer.
- It took Hyundai 46 years to reach 50 million units, and just 11 more years to reach 100 million cars.
Hyundai announced Sunday it has built 100 million cars globally since its inception in 1967. To celebrate, the company handed over its 100 millionth and first vehicle, an all-electric Ioniq 5, to its new owner.
Why the 100 millionth and first vehicle and not the 100 millionth car itself? Hyundai says it shows the automaker’s “commitment to pushing one step further with its past accomplishments as the foundation,” according to a statement released Sunday.
While Hyundai was founded in 1967, it wasn’t until 1968 that its first manufacturing plant, located in Ulsan, South Korea, went online. The company describes it as the “birthplace of the development of the Korean automobile industry,” having produced Korea’s first mass-produced automobile, the Pony. The plant currently can produce 1.6 million cars annually.
Hyundai has, of course, expanded greatly since the 1960s. In just 57 years, it’s opened plants in the Czech Republic, India, Turkey, and the United States. Amazingly, it took the brand until 2013—46 years—to reach 50 million units. From there, it took just 11 more years to double that number.
“Reaching global cumulative production of 100 million vehicles is a meaningful milestone that was possible thanks to our customers around the world who have chosen and supported Hyundai Motor since the very beginning,” Jaehoon Chang, President and CEO, said in a statement. “Taking on bold challenges and being in constant pursuit of innovation has enabled us to achieve rapid growth and will empower us to take ‘one step further’ toward another 100 million units as a mobility game changer.”
While Hyundai doesn’t have a strong, long-stretching history of performance or motorsport under its belt, we can still admire its ability to break into the car world and become a titan of the industry. Plus, it’s begun to make some seriously fun cars. Its first true performance car, the Veloster N, is a masterpiece. And the Ioniq 5 N is easily the most exciting EV on the planet.
Here’s to 100 million more.