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Korean auto industry jittery over Trump tweets-The 18th Guangzhou Die-casting, Foundry & Industry Furnace Exhibition
1/13/2017 Die-casting expo-foundry expo |
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Concerns are growing over the possibility of US President-elect Donald Trump affecting South Korea¡¯s auto industry through protectionist measures against cars made in Mexico, following Japanese auto brand Toyota¡¯s announcement to invest USD 10 billion in the US over the next five years.
According to Toyota, the No 1 automobile seller in the US, the investment is irrelevant to Trump¡¯s push for heavier border tax, while Japan¡¯s Kyoto News Agency viewed the firm¡¯s move as a countermeasure.
The series of events in the global auto industry is causing jitters in Korea¡¯s auto industry.
Since September last year, Kia Motors, the sister company of Hyundai Motor, has been running a 1 trillion won plant in Northeastern Mexico. It has the capacity to produce 400,000 units.
The automaker had initially planned to export 80% of the cars made at the Mexico plant to the US and some 80 countries, and to sell the rest in Mexico.
The plant currently produces the compact sedan Kia Forte, also known as the K3, with the Kia Rio scheduled to join production this year based on price competitiveness guaranteed by the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Kim Pil-soo a professor of automotive engineering at Daelim University said that ¡°We can¡¯t rule out the possibility that Trump may go after Kia Motors, casting doubts about the FTA between Korea and the US. If Kia becomes an open target, its Mexico plant will be dealt a blow. Ultimately, Kia may not be able to reach its global sales goal to sell 8.25 million units in 2017.¡±
Kia Motors spokesperson said nothing has been decided regarding the Mexico plant and that it will come up with an action plan when Trump rolls out policies as US president.
Trump recently took to Twitter to criticize global automakers for selling automobiles made abroad in the US, stating they should either build a plant in the US or pay a ¡°bigger border tax.¡±
-The
18th Guangzhou Die-casting, Foundry & Industry Furnace Exhibition
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