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What is Hyundai and when did it start making cars?
The Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company was founded by Chung Ju-yung in 1947, two years after the liberation of Korea from Japanese control. It rapidly became one of the more powerful chaebol (family run conglomerates), making steel, ships and roads. It wasn’t until 1967 that Hyundai Motor Company was formed, with a unique capacity to control its own supply chains at all levels.
Despite that, Hyundai actually just built Ford Cortinas under licence until 1982, and didn’t reveal a car of its own creation until 1974. The Pony was styled by Italian design maestro Giorgetto Giugiaro and exported around the world. No Hyundais offcially made it to the UK until 1982 or the US until 1986.
Everything ticked along nicely – Hyundai started making its own powertrains in the early Nineties and gradually expanded its range of cheap ’n’ cheerful motors. Its big moment came in the later part of that decade – a financial crisis hit Korea and rival outfit Kia went bankrupt in 1997. Hyundai snapped it up to join its club and the rest is history, as they say.
Founder Chung Ju-yung died in 2001, but the group remains in the family – current chairman and CEO is his grandson, Chung Eui-sun.
Hyundai’s greatest hits
01 Hyundai N Vision 74
If the N Vision 74 concept is a lool< at Hyundai’s future, then we can't wait to get there. This bonkers one-off was unveiled in mid-2022 and was inspired by the Giugiaro-designed Pony concept from 1974. It features a 670bhp hybrid hydrogen powertrain.
