Hyundai Breaks Ground On Brazilian Plant

Automaker said production at its $600 million plant will begin in the second half of 2012 and will eventually reach a capacity of 150,000 units a year.

SAO PAULO (AP) -- South Korean automaker Hyundai has begun building its seventh overseas plant in southeastern Brazil.

Hyundai Motor Co. says in a statement that production at its $600 million plant in the city of Piracicaba will begin in the second half of 2012 and will eventually reach a capacity of 150,000 units a year.

The ground breaking ceremony took place Friday.

The statement says that the first model to be produced will be a small hatchback designed for the Central and South American markets. All cars will be flex-fuel models that can run on ethanol, gasoline or any combination of the two.

Hyundai has plants in China, India, Turkey, the United States, the Czech Republic and Russia.

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