Hyundai Motor’s corporate vision is to be the lifetime automobile partner of its millions of customers around the world. We are committed to bringing them the ultimate in high-quality automobile products and services.
The global economy is witnessing deepening uncertainties these days. They include a prolonged low growth trend and concerns about the growth of trade barriers in major countries. The automobile industry is also facing a wave of rapid change, due to accelerating technological innovations and intensifying competition.
In response to this landscape, Hyundai Motor will make whatever management adjustments are necessary to improve the profitability of our operations. We will also lead future innovations in the automobile industry by continuously expanding our R&D activities and investing in new technologies and businesses.
These steps will include upgrading our worldwide management system by pursuing a detailed and integrated strategy in terms of products, production, and sales in each of our major markets. This will allow us to respond proactively to the differing needs of customers around the world. We will also continue to open new markets, including the ASEAN region, where rapid economic growth is expected to occur. In addition, we will strengthen our strategic directions in relation to our future core business areas.
Another of our goals is to establish a detailed roadmap that will allow us to introduce a large number of electric vehicles by 2025. This will begin with our next-generation fuel cell electric vehicle, and will also include EVs with significantly increased mileage ranges. Our goal here is to firm up our position as a leading maker of eco-friendly vehicles at a time of their increasing popularization.
We will also continue to lead the competition in terms of major new technologies. This will include increasing our R&D activities in terms of smart cars, especially in such areas as autonomous driving and connectivity. Another of our strategies will be to engage in the commercialization of these and related technologies, establishing partnerships with world-leading ICT players.
In addition, we will explore the possibility of entering new businesses in areas of future innovation, setting up open innovation centers in our key global bases and promoting investments in and open collaboration with promising startups. We will also make positive adjustments to our profitability-based decision-making system to enhance our future growth, ensuring that we are able to cope with an uncertain business environment quickly and flexibly.
Another of our main priorities will be to continue fulfilling our corporate social responsibilities, creating a happier world for everyone. Some of the ways that we will do this include increasing our number of global CSR activity areas, and taking the lead in establishing mutually beneficial relationships with our partner companies.
I look forward to your continuing interest and support.
Thank you.
CEO and Chairman Chung Mong-Koo
