Hyundai Motor Group revealed this week that they're not planning on building a new car factory in the U.S. according to Chairman Chung Mong-koo.
The company felt the need to downplay the speculation that the South Korean automaker would be opening new production facilitates in the key market.
"We have no plan (for a new U.S. factory) for now," the 75-year-old said to reporters at Seoul's Gimpo airport before leaving for the United States.
Hyundai Motor is a parent company for Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, which combined is the world's fifth-largest car company according to Reuters.
Chung said last week that company is looking into whether there are opportunities to expand production overseas, giving rise to industry discussions that the company was planning a new plant in the U.S.
Hyundai's Chairman has also ruled out major capacity expansion according to Reuters.
Chung will be visited Hyundai and Kia plants in Alabama and Georgia during his visit to the U.S., which coincides with South Korean President Park Geun-hye's U.S. trip.
"We are closely watching the U.S. market situation, but we are not having an in-depth consideration of a new plant there," Kim Yong-hwan, a top Hyundai Motor executive, said to Reuters.
Yong-hwan said the company is not seriously considering building a new car factory in the U.S. He also mentioned that a third shift at Hyundai's Alabama plant in 2012 helped "ease" capacity constraints in the U.S.
Many major media outlets feel that it's only a matter of time before Hyundai and Kia open new U.S. plants to address capacity shortages that have hurt market share and sales in 2013.
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