Based upon extensive fieldwork in India and Korea, this book is a detailed account of the globalization of the Korean automobile industry and Hyundai Motor Company, one of the most prominent of the new Korean multinational corporations.

This book examines the experiences of the globalizing Korean automobile industry, with particular focus on the Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), one of the most prominent of the new Korean multinational corporations. It provides an overview of the changing nature of the global automobile industry, before considering in depth the globalization processes that the Korean automobile industry has undertaken. Tracing the development of HMC as it recovered from the failure of its first venture overseas, in Canada, and tried again in India, the authors explore the similarities and differences between the practices which HMC implemented in India and Korea. They highlight the importance of production systems and employment relations as part of HMC’s growth, and argue that if Korean companies such as HMC are to compete successfully as global automobile producers they will need to increase the proportion of overseas production, establish global supply chains and improve co-ordination between head office and subsidiaries. Based upon extensive fieldwork in India and Korea, this book is a detailed account of the globalization of the Korean automobile industry and Hyundai Motor Company. Its findings will be of importance to all those who seek to understand the challenges faced by firms that attempt to become global players.

The automotive industry is still one of the world's largest manufacturing sectors, but it suffers from being very technology-focused as well as being relatively short-term focused. There is little emphasis within the industry and its consultancy and analyst supply network on the broader social and economic impacts of automobility and of the sector that provides it. The Global Automotive Industry addresses this need and is a first port of call for any academic, official or consultant wanting an overview of the state of the industry. An international team of specialist researchers, both from academia and business, review and analyse the key issues that make vehicle manufacturing still the world’s premier manufacturing sector, closely tied in with the fortunes of both established and newly emerging economies. In doing so, it covers issues related to manufacturing, both established practices as well as new developments; issues relating to distribution, marketing and retail, vehicle technologies and regulatory trends; and, crucially, labour practices and the people who build cars. In all this it explains both how the current situation arose and also likely future trajectories both in terms of social and regulatory trends, as the technological, marketing and labour practice responses to those, leading in many cases to the development of new business models. Key features Provides a global overview of the automotive industry, covering its current state and considering future challenges Contains contributions from international specialists in the automotive sector Presents current research and sets this in an historical and broader industry context Covers threats to the industry, including globalization, economic and environmental sustainability The Global Automotive Industry is a must-have reference for researchers and practitioners in the automotive industry and is an excellent source of information for business schools, governments, and graduate and undergraduate students in automotive engineering.

The automotive industry is still one of the world's largest manufacturing sectors, but it suffers from being very technology-focused as well as being relatively short-term focused. There is little emphasis within the industry and its consultancy and analyst supply network on the broader social and economic impacts of automobility and of the sector that provides it. The Global Automotive Industry addresses this need and is a first port of call for any academic, official or consultant wanting an overview of the state of the industry. An international team of specialist researchers, both from academia and business, review and analyse the key issues that make vehicle manufacturing still the world’s premier manufacturing sector, closely tied in with the fortunes of both established and newly emerging economies. In doing so, it covers issues related to manufacturing, both established practices as well as new developments; issues relating to distribution, marketing and retail, vehicle technologies and regulatory trends; and, crucially, labour practices and the people who build cars. In all this it explains both how the current situation arose and also likely future trajectories both in terms of social and regulatory trends, as the technological, marketing and labour practice responses to those, leading in many cases to the development of new business models. Key features Provides a global overview of the automotive industry, covering its current state and considering future challenges Contains contributions from international specialists in the automotive sector Presents current research and sets this in an historical and broader industry context Covers threats to the industry, including globalization, economic and environmental sustainability The Global Automotive Industry is a must-have reference for researchers and practitioners in the automotive industry and is an excellent source of information for business schools, governments, and graduate and undergraduate students in automotive engineering.

This volume chronicles the maturation of the South Korean auto industry and its native automakers, from the 1997 Asian Crisis to 2019. After examining the context for domestic vehicle production in South Korea, the author presents multiple case studies for all five Korean automakers: General Motors Korea/Daewoo Motors, Kia, Hyundai, Ssangyong and Renault Samsung. This includes coverage of Hyundai-Kia’s foreign plants in North America, Europe, India, China, and Emerging Asia. The book closes by assessing the five-to-ten-year future outlooks for Korean automakers at home and abroad. This important work will prove informative to scholars of business, management, automotive history, international development, Asian studies, and public administration.

In 1962, South Korea assembled just 1,100 new automobiles. By 1996, this total had soared to 2,812,714. What explains this remarkable growth? The answer is complex, and involves a combination of a supportive State, timely technology alliances, a skilled but historically low-paid workforce, aggressive pricing, savvy entrepreneurs, and fortuitous circumstances. Despite this amazing ascent, comparatively little has been written about the Korean auto industry in English. In the first of a two-volume set, this 11-chapter book seeks to help fill this void by providing in-depth examinations of all six of Korea’s automakers from their beginnings through 1996. Uniquely written from the perspective of industry analysts at the time (without knowledge of the Asian Fiscal Crisis), the book should prove informative to practitioners, scholars, and students interested in automotive history, international political economy, Asian studies, and more.

How and why has the Korean state changed its way of handling the society and its markets over the past two decades? The Changing Role of the Korean State finds that the explosion of contentious civil society after democratization coeval with the outbreak of the financial crisis following rapid economic growth, are closely associated with the decline of developmentalism. Despite these profound changes, however, the Korean state has not totally relinquished its control over the society and the market. Rather, although its methods have been altered it remains to be highly interventionalist and regulatory in nature. The state continues to use its influence to restructure the socio-economic system and rationally manage spatial arrangements. The book amply demonstrates the residual legacy of the developmental state in Korea, and it is unlikely that Korea will ever accept the western liberalist concept of a state which limits its function to that of a referee for the spontaneous operation of the civil society and the market. The contributors of this edited volume delineate the shifting role of the Korean state from the developmental state, which led economic development by guiding investment in strategic industries through various means, to a slightly subtler role as a regulator, supervising the operation of the market in the changing economic environment. Individual chapters presented here address this changing but nonetheless vital role that the state plays in managing the variety of modern socio-economic life in South Korea. Hong Yung Lee is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at University of California, Berkeley. Sunil Kim is Assistant Professor of International Studies at Kyung Hee University.