DaimlerChrysler, Hyundai Motors JV To Build Engines In Alabama

SEOUL, May 4, Reuters reported that Hyundai Motor Co, said on Saturday it would hold a signing ceremony on Sunday for a U.S. joint venture to produce passenger car engines with DaimlerChrysler AG.

It will be the second tie-up between South Korean and U.S. carmakers in a week following a deal on Tuesday for General Motors Corp to buy key parts of bankrupt Daewoo Motor Co.

"We will hold a signing ceremony tomorrow over the joint venture," a Hyundai Motor spokesman told Reuters.

The joint venture is expected produce 1.8 litre to 2.4 litre engines, the spokesman said, declining to provide further details.

The companies plan to establish a joint venture in the second half of this year to produce 1.5 million gasoline engines for passenger cars at DaimlerChrysler's plant in Alabama beginning in 2004, the Maeil Business Newspaper reported on Saturday.

The joint venture will also supply the engines to Japan's Mitsubishi Corp, the newspaper said.

The three companies have been in talks on the deal for some time and Hyundai Chief Executive Kim Dong-jin told reporters last month he expected to hammer it out by end April.

DaimlerChrysler holds stakes in both Hyundai and Mitsubishi. The U.S.-German automaker formed a diesel engine joint venture last year with Hyundai Motor.