First Hyundai car manufacturing plant in Bangladesh inaugurated
The Fair Technology-Hyundai factory was inaugurated in a ceremony at the Bangabandhu Hi-Tech Park on Thursday.
During the event, Industry Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun said the factory's inauguration was a decisive step towards implementing the national vision of "Smart Bangladesh".
He said the Made in Bangladesh Hyundai SUV running on the roads would symbolise a fast-moving Bangladesh.
Fair Technology established the factory with the technical support of the globally leading Korean automobile giant Hyundai. The popular SUV Creta will be manufactured in this factory.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Entrepreneurs informed that by operating one shift per day in the beginning, the Fair Technology-Hyundai factory would be able to produce 3,000 Creta SUVs annually. The number will gradually reach 10,000 units per year.
Every Creta will be manufactured by importing more than 1,000 parts and multiple layers of paintings from its paint shop.
Fair Technology invested in the project, although the investment amount has remained undisclosed.
The factory is expected to create 300 jobs, primarily for diploma engineers and plant technicians trained by Hyundai.
The current focus is on importing Completely Knocked Down (CKD) parts and assembling those in the modern facility.
CKD refers to the shipment of automobile parts for specific vehicles from the manufacturing plant to plants in different countries where they are assembled.
The chassis and body parts will arrive and be painted at the Fair Technology plant's paint shop.
Initially, the Hyundai Creta will be the only model made locally, but another model will be included by the end of the year.
The local manufacturing is also expected to knock a few lakhs off Hyundai Creta's current Tk42 lakh price tag.
Fair Technology hopes that the local manufacturing will gradually lead to higher sales.
Speakers said Bangladesh, under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is now on the verge of becoming a developing country.
With a fast-growing economy, the country can't remain a used car market. People have the right to access the world's best brand-new cars at affordable and competitive prices.
At the event, Fair Technology Director and CEO Mutassim Daiaan said, "We humbly express our pride that we proved Bangladesh's ability to produce world's best Hyundai cars. We believe this is a highly significant milestone of a progressing Bangladesh. At this glorious moment, we promise to deliver the Hyundai SUV Creta at a highly competitive and affordable price to our people."
He further said the world-standard after-sales service and availability of all spare parts at affordable prices have also been ensured.
With the motto of "Step into the future," Fair Technology-Hyundai established the factory combining two industrial plots in the Bangabandhu Hi-Tech Park.
Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-Keun and Managing Director of Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Unsoo Kim attended the ceremony as guests of honour. State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak was present as the special guest.
Fair Technology Director and CEO Mutassim Daiaan delivered the welcome speech in the presence of Fair Group Chairman Ruhul Alam Al Mahbub.
To ensure Customer-benefit, Fair Technology has already established multiple Sales, Service and Spare Parts (3S) Centers in Dhaka and Chattogram and extended the 3S facilities to other major cities, including Sylhet, Bogura etc.
Growing ten times in a decade, sales of sport utility vehicles (SUV) and their follower segment crossovers crossed 10,000 units for the first time in 2022, up by one-fourth in a year, according to the vehicle registration data of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA).
In the last year, nearly four in every ten cars sold were SUVs or crossovers, up from just one a decade ago.
Right now, two of every ten cars on the roads are SUVs or their lookalike crossovers, which have SUV bodies on sedan chassis.
