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The beginnings of Hyundai - From 0 to 100 in 50 years

Name: Hyundai Sonata 1985
Brand: Hyundai

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Created on March 4, 2025

Text:

Martin Sigrist

Photos:

Martin Sigrist

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Martin Sigrist

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv

Hyundai Pony (1976) - For many Koreans, the Pony was their first car ever

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Hyundai Pony (1976) - Brought back from Ecuador with 1.5 million kilometers

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Journey through South Korea - At the Hyundai Motorstudio in Seoul

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Hyundai Pony (1976) - As a cab, the Korean earned a reputation as a reliable partner

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Hyundai Pony (1976) - Hyundai exceeded the 100 million car production mark in 2024

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Ford Cortina Mk II assembly Hyundai (1967)

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Ford Cortina Mk II assembly Hyundai (1967) - the Koreans produced the first cars from supplied CKD kits

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Ford Cortina Mk II Montage Hyundai (1967) - The Cortina was unable to cope with the rudimentary roads of South Korea at the time

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Ford Cortina Mk II Assembly Hyundai (1967) - The first Hyundai was a Ford

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Hyundai Pony (1976) - First sighting of a Pony in 1975 - with alloy wheels!

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Hyundai Pony (1976) - World premiere from Korea

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Hyundai Pony (1976) - flap instead of tailgate like the VW Passat

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Hyundai Pony (1976) - Interior of the original version with robust vinyl upholstery

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Hyundai Pony (1976) - First press photo of the new Korean car

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Hyundai Pony (1976) - Luxury version of the Pony

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Hyundai Pony (1976) - The start of series production was planned for 1976, but the first units rolled off the production line as early as 1975

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Hyundai Pony (1976) - three-door model with tailgate

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Hyundai Pony station wagon (1976) - The station wagon followed in 1978

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Hyundai Pony station wagon (1976) - Large load compartment

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Hyundai Pony station wagon (1976) - Included from the start

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Hyundai Pony Series 2 (1986) - All new for model year 1987

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Hyundai Pony Series 2 (1986) - Catching up with the competition in giant strides

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Hyundai Pony Series 2 (1986) - Pony sedan from 1986 with front-wheel drive

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Hyundai Pony Series 2 (1986) - Technically on a par

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Hyundai Pony Series 2 (1986) - Contemporary dashboard in the new model

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Journey through South Korea - Busan Bridge, the landmark of the port city

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Journey through South Korea - Busan Bridge

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Journey through South Korea - On the Guyeongbu Expressway No1 along a branch of the Nakdong River

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Journey through South Korea - Port city of Busan

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Journey through South Korea - The Guyeongbu Expressway No1, Korea's main artery

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Journey through South Korea - A first advertisement for the passenger car from our own production

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Journey through South Korea - Koreans are playful, vending machines are everywhere

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Journey through South Korea - Typical street scene, the Kia van is called Bongo

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Journey through South Korea - On the south coast

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Journey through South Korea - Street scene in Busan

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Journey through South Korea - Night in Seoul

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Journey through South Korea - Seoul, seen from the hotel room

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Journey through South Korea - Hyundai Motostudio in Seoul illuminated at night

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Journey through South Korea - Korea celebrates its veteran cars as much as any other car nation

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Journey through South Korea - nightlife in Seoul

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Journey through South Korea - Drawing table of the first Hyundai development department

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Journey through South Korea - Korean still life from the Hyundai development department around 1970

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Journey through South Korea - Design table of days gone by at the Hyundai Motorstudio in Seoul

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Journey through South Korea - Traditional Korean architecture

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Morris Marina 1300 Special (1976) - A vinyl roof turned the Marina into a Special

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Hyundai Sonata (1985) - The first mid-range Hyundai was based on a Mitsubishi

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Hyundai Sonata (1985) - The Koreans still have a great weakness for classic sedans today

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Hyundai Sonata (1985) - Fully equipped, including air conditioning

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Hyundai Sonata (1985) - A luxury car by the Korean standards of the time

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Hyundai Sonata (1985) - The loudspeakers on the parcel shelf were considered prestigious and were placed on top on purpose

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Hyundai Alpha (1992) - The very first Korean car engine was a 12-valve unit

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Hyundai Scoupé (1992) - The first mass-produced car developed entirely in Korea, right down to the engine

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Hyundai Scoupé (1992) - The low-priced two-door model also brought more momentum to the model range for export

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The Hyundai Ioniq 5 shares its platform with the Kia EV6, the European car of the year 2022

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Summary

In 1966, the grass was still waving in the wind on an empty field near Ulsan in the south of the Korean peninsula. The following year, a few modest assembly halls were erected on it. Today, a car factory with the incredible capacity of 1.6 million vehicles a year stands on the same site, the second largest of its kind in the world. A Hyundai rolls off the production line here every twelve seconds. The international rise of the South Korean car industry really took off from here 50 years ago.

This article contains the following chapters

Everything and much more
Learning from the best
New factory and industrial production
The complete decoupling

Estimated reading time: 10min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Korea has made a huge leap in development. The then emerging country exported around 30 trucks in 1975. Today, Hyundai and its sub-brands Kia and Genesis are among the top ten car manufacturers and currently rank third behind Toyota and Volkswagen. In 2024, the company celebrated its 100 millionth car and the brand is at home in 193 markets around the world with around 5,000 dealerships. It all started very modestly in 1967: With a Ford Cortina Mk II. The fact that it was this car that kick-started Hyundai's automobile production was not so clear-cut, as the Ford P7 from Cologne was also on the Koreans' shortlist.

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