Businessweek

A district court ruled against a Hyundai Motor collective bargaining agreement which includes a provision that promises to hire a family member of an employee who dies due to an industrial accident or injury. The Ulsan court concluded that the clause intrudes on the intrinsic right of employers to choose personnel. The court announced that clauses in collective bargaining agreement can be nullified if they go against social norms. The ruling came after a case filed by the bereaved family members of a male Hyundai Motor worker who died of lung cancer in 2011, two years after he retired after working for 30 years as a thermal engineer there. The families received confirmation from Korea Workers Compensation and Service that the death of the worker was caused by an industrial injury. After this, three family members of the deceased worker demanded that Hyundai Motor hire one of the children of the late worker in accordance with the terms reached in the collective bargaining agreement. The company refused to do this, insisting that the worker retired from his job in 2009 and that he was not a union member when he died because he died two years after leaving the company. The court said the company must compensate the family in accordance with the law because the workers death was due to an industrial injury. However, it rejected the succession of employment clause, saying that the practice is not acceptable.

Hyundai plans to expand its vehicle production capacity in China by 150,000 units per annum upa. The company will increase the capacity of its Beijing No. 3 plant to 450,000 upa from 300,000 upa currently by January 2014. The company has three assembly plants in China, and construction of a new line at the third plant is under way. At the Beijing No. 3 plant, Hyundai currently produces the Santa Fe and Langdong (Avante), and plans to produce the Mistra (Mingtu) in the new line. In order to respond to the rising demand for its vehicles in China, the United States, and Europe, Hyundai needs to operate its plants around the globe at full capacity. However, production disruptions at the company's domestic plants have led to the company's failure in matching supply with demand in these regions. A plan to expand production at Hyundai's plant in Gwangju (South Korea) remains hampered. The labour union at the plant had initially agreed to increase the output by 600,000 units, but negotiation over the production system for the additional output has reached a stalemate. This means that the plant has to wait until next year to begin producing cars at the larger capacity. Hyundai is therefore concerned with expanding its overseas production. Once the expansion plan is completed, The company's total production capacity in China will reach 1.05 million units.

Hyundai Motor Company reported earnings results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. For the quarter, the company reported operating profit fall 10.7% in the first quarter from a year earlier. Operating profit was KRW 1.87 trillion ($1.68 billion), down 10.7% from the same period of last year. Sales increased 6% from a year before to KRW 21.37 trillion in the first quarter, while net income declined 14.9% to KRW 2.09 trillion. Although sales increased, the company's first quarter results were hit by adverse currency movements and losses due to production stoppages at its domestic plants. In addition, costs associated with the recall of about 2 million vehicles in the United States and South Korea over an electronic issue and faulty airbags also had an impact, as did a fall in profits from the automaker's equity investments during the period. The company reported sales results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. The company sold 1.17 million vehicles in the quarter, up 9.2% year on year. The company aims to sell 4.66 million units globally in 2013, up 5.9% year on year, with 668,000 units to be sold in the domestic market and 3,992,000 units overseas.

Hyundai Motor Company, Q1 2013 Earnings Call, Apr 25, 2013

Hyundai Motor Company unveiled March 28, 2013, the "E4U" personal mobility vehicle at Seoul Motor Show 2013, which opens for the public from March 29 to April 7, 2013. The E4U is a concept vehicle that can be actually driven and was designed by the company's Advanced Design Department. The initial letter "E" represents "egg," "evolution," "ecology," etc. It can be moved in any direction with a motor that rotates only in one direction. Instead of tires, the vehicle uses a rotating semispherical part (like the lower half of a ball). When the part is vertical to the ground (with the apex of the semisphere touching the ground) and rotating in the horizontal direction, a force is generated to spin the vehicle. To prevent the vehicle from spinning, it has two safety wheels on the rear side. At this point, the vehicle does not move even though the semispherical part is spinning because of the frictional force generated by the safety wheels. So, the wheels function like the tail rotor of a helicopter. On the other hand, when the semispherical part is tilted, it becomes possible to move the vehicle because the rotative force is transmitted to the ground. The semispherical part rotates counterclockwise. And the direction of travel can be controlled by using the feet placed on the part to tilt it. To move forward, the left foot is used to tilt the semispherical part so that the left side of it contacts the ground and kicks the ground backward. As a result of its reaction force, the vehicle moves forward. Likewise, when the right foot is used to tilt the semispherical part, the right side of it contacts the ground and kicks the ground forward, moving the vehicle backward. To turn right and left, the semispherical part needs to be tilted forward and backward, respectively.