This model was quickly followed by the release of the Pony, Hyundai's first entirely Korean designed and built model. Soon after Hyundai's access to Ford's resources, the first Hyundai car was developed: the Cortina. One year after its birth, the Hyundai Motor Company signed a technology-share agreement with Ford in 1968. Yung was quick to fill the void, having raised enough capital for the investment from his very profitable construction business, opened in 1947. The grounds for founding a car company could not have been more welcoming since post-war years in Korea brought forth a series of odd politics one of which stated that automobile imports were better than having a Korean car brand. The assembly lines operated by the company were built to match its size, the manufacturing facility in Ulsan being able to produce 1.6 million units per year.įounded by Chung Ju Yung, born into a poor family of farmers, the Hyundai Motor Company became the first Korean car producer. Presently part of the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, the motor company has registered a steady growth over the past few decades, having successfully entered European and American markets. Hyundai is a self-grown South Korean brand of automobiles established in the 1960's.
