Hyundai to Build Future Car R&D Center in Shanghai

Hyundai will setup a future car research center in Shanghai in a bid to boost flagging sales in the world's major market.

Hyundai and affiliate Kia made the announcement within an online press conference on Thursday. The automotive group really wants to bolster research and development in China together with increasing its lineup of electric cars and hydrogen vehicles there.

The guts will open in the second half of the year. Hyundai already has a technology R&D center in Yantai concentrating on combustion-engine cars.

At the same time Korea's major automaker will put its energy into expanding its presence in the Chinese green car market. Hyundai plans to unveil an EV version of its premium Genesis G80 sedan at the Shanghai Motor Show that opens next Monday and releasing its first all-electric hatchback, the Ioniq 5, there next year. Kia will also launch its first electric car, the EV6, in the world's most populous country.

Hyundai will also create a 207,000 sq.m hydrogen fuel cell plant in Guangzhou next year, while rolling out the Nexo hydrogen car in China later this year.

Hyundai and Kia combined ranked third with regards to sales in China in 2016 but have since fallen among the also-rans. Last year, their sales plunged 27 percent to 660,000 cars and their rank dropped to ninth.

But the Chinese market is too large and juicy for Hyundai to abandon. This year alone demand is likely to soar to an archive 27 million cars.