South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor said on Dec. 20 it and China's Baotou Bei Ben Heavy-Duty Truck had agreed to launch a $400 million joint venture in China next year.
The evenly-invested joint venture will take over the Chinese firm's large truck manufacturing sector under the deal signed in Seoul on Dec. 20.
The combined unit will increase production from the current 40,000 units a year to 100,000 units a year by 2014, according to Hyundai Motor.
Hyundai said the deal would help it better meet customers' demand in the world's largest and fastest-growing market for commercial vehicles.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
