The Hyundai
line of vehicles just like Benz, Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen, and Honda are now
very common in Nigeria, hardly would you count 10 vehicles on the road and not notice
a Hyundai brand among them. Before now there is the phobia for vehicles whose
maker or name is sparsely unknown, the common brand of Automobiles seen on
Nigerian roads remains the Toyota, Honda, Benz, VW, Nissan and the moribund Peugeot
cars. Back in 1986, the first Hyundai was introduced to the market and the
company’s line-up has changed spectacularly since that time. Hyundai produces
much more than cars; in fact, by the end of the last century Hyundai became one
of the largest companies in the world. Let’s take a look at this Korean based
multinational corporation and the company behind Hyundai vehicles.
It was back
in 1946, just one year removed from Imperial Japan’s occupation of the Korean
peninsula, that a new company was birthed in what is now known as South Korea.
Hyundai Motor Industrial Company was founded by Chung Ju-yung, a child of
northern Korean peasant farmers, and in 1947 Ju-yung launched a second company,
Hyundai Civil Industries. Self educated, Ju-yung transformed the entire Korean
economy with the tight control he exerted over his Hyundai companies.
The first
Hyundai business was tasked with building automobiles while the second Hyundai Company
concentrated on construction. Indeed, much of modern South Korea’s
infrastructure was built by Hyundai in the period after the cessation of the
Korean War in 1953 and on through the 1970s. Dams, an expressway, a
shipbuilding yard, and a nuclear power plant were all built by Hyundai Civil
Industries, while Hyundai Motors produced cars made primarily from Japanese
components. Hyundai’s influence stretched far beyond the Korean peninsula as
the company won
contracts to build an expressway in Thailand and a major port
in Saudi Arabia. Clearly, Hyundai dominated the Korean market and quickly
became a major player on the international scene.
By the 1970s
Hyundai began to build vessels as well as shipyards and by 1986 Hyundai
produced its first vehicle made entirely from Korean components. From the 1980s
forward Hyundai added additional specialties including the building of
semiconductors and magnetic levitation trains.
All hasn’t
been glossy for the company, however. Decades of labor problems culminating in
new employee safety standards put in place from the 1990s on, tempered the
Hyundai mystique. Indeed, up to that time the company was cited for having the
worst safety standards of any corporation in the industrialized world.
Cars were
another source of problems for what became known as the Hyundai Group. Although
now manufacturing their own vehicles, the quality of Hyundai vehicles for the
first decade was considered by automobile experts to be sub-par. Today, Hyundai
vehicles and Hyundai parts are, for the most part, slightly above average in
quality compared to the industry as a whole.
With Chung
Ju-yung’s death in 2001, Hyundai was divided up into three separate companies:
Hyundai Heavy Industries, the Hyundai Motor Group, and Hyundai Engineering and
Construction. Today, all three Hyundai companies continue to compete
successfully in the global marketplace thanks to the vision of a peasant
farmer.
What is your
dream for the future? Do you want to continue blaming the government for all
your woes? How long are you going to wait for the miracle of fortune? You
better start something today, no matter how small or little your project is, it
could still be a giant stride tomorrow.
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