Hyundai, Daimler, Mitsubishi Make $13 Billion Parts Deal

SEOUL, Oct 11, 2002 Reuters reported that South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co said on Friday it had agreed with DaimlerChrysler AG and Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp to jointly develop and buy auto parts worth $13 billion.

"The joint purchase will start as early as June next year," a Hyundai spokesman told Reuters.

The decision was made in Seoul at a meeting of heads of each automaker's parts purchasing division, the spokesman said.

The amount tops $11.1 billion of annual purchases made by the world's top automaker General Motors Corp and $9.8 billion by Ford Motor Co, Hyundai said.

U.S.-German automaker DaimlerChrysler owns 10 percent of Hyundai Motor.