9:59 am, February 29, 2012
HYUNDAI has announced that the 500,000th car has driven out of its import centre in the Port of Tilbury, Essex.
The facility was opened on March 1, 1999 and in 13 years has received and delivered half a million Hyundai vehicles to dealerships and customers around the UK.
Every Hyundai that arrives at Tilbury’s docks is inspected on arrival, processed, stored awaiting customer orders, and given a further inspection on despatch, to ensure that every vehicle meets the Korean manufacturer’s strict standards for quality.
Hyundai Motor UK operates the import centre itself, with a core team of 28 members of staff which are supported by up to 50 additional contract staff for peak sales periods, all employed from the local Tilbury area.
At present Tilbury is capable of storing 10,000 vehicles at any one time, and this number is set to increase to 11,500 before the end of 2012.
Tony Whitehorn, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor UK, said: ‘This is a fantastic milestone for both the Tilbury Import Centre and Hyundai UK. During the government’s scrappage scheme in 2009-2010, we were processing up to 800 vehicles per day with some leaving Tilbury for dealer forecourts within six hours of driving off the ship.
‘With several new models arriving on our shores in 2012, we are confident that our operation here will go from strength to strength and ensure Hyundai continues to deliver top-quality and reliable cars to customers.’
