SEOUL, South Korea—10 years ago, Hyundai Mobis (KRX:012330), established Mobis North America (MNA) and began to supply modules to the American automaker, Chrysler. Its cumulative production quantity is expected to reach 4 million by the end of this year.

Hyundai Mobis said that this year its annual module production quantity increased 14 times over the first year of the relationship.

Mobis North America (MNA), located in the Northeastern part of the US, is producing modules in its Ohio and Michigan plants. The Ohio plant generates an annual capacity of 246,000 modules and produces the complete chassis module for Chrysler’s Jeep Wrangler. When it started mass-production in July 2006, the module supply quantity was merely 40,000, but it jumped to 156,000 the following year, and exceeded 220,000 in 2013. Last year, the figure topped 245,000. The cumulative production quantity as of the first half of this year is 1,745,000. The Ohio plant has been rapidly increasing its production volume since its cumulative production quantity reached 1 million in the first half of 2013.

The Michigan plant supplies the front and rear chassis, which correspond to the spine of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. This plant, with an annual production capacity of 360,000, produced only 105,000 in 2010, the first year of production, but the figure eventually rose to 365,000 last year. Its cumulative production quantity was 1.88 million in the first half of this year.

The estimated annual production of the Ohio and Michigan plants is 584,000. Its annual production quantity increased an astounding 14 times more than the 40,000 in 2006, the year MNA began production, a feat that was attained in just 10 years. Looking at the 10-year cumulative production quantity of the two plants, it exceeded 3.6 million in the first half of this year, and if things go as planned, the number will approach 4 million near the end of this year.

The complete chassis module includes the engine, transmission, steering system and suspensions on the chassis frame, i.e. the undercarriage of the car. It is a core module which accounts for 50% of all parts in an automobile.

MNA has been able to drastically increase module supply thanks to Hyundai Mobis’s continued efforts to improve quality and productivity, and Chrysler’s trust in such efforts.

The Hyundai Mobis Toledo plant in Ohio, in the Northeastern part of the US, is connected to the outfitting line of Chrysler’s Toledo plant by a tunnel conveyor belt. The tunnel conveyor belt, the first that Hyundai Mobis introduced both, enables the in-line production of modules and automobiles, contributing to not only reduction of logistics costs, but also to quality improvement of parts.

The length of the conveyor belt was extended afterwards, lines were added, the factory layout was changed, and the inventory warehouse was expanded, thereby greatly improving productivity. Soon after the construction of the plant, the working hours per person amounted to 40 hours a week (8 hours a day from Monday through Friday), but now they increased to 60 hours a week (10 hours a day from Monday through Saturday). The lines are fully operational to such an extent that they come to work every other Sunday.

A Hyundai Mobis official who participated in the construction of the plant said, “From the outset, we aimed at achieving zero quality defects. We applied all state-of-the-art quality assurance systems used in Korea, and received high ratings from Chrysler, and that led their company to trust us.”

Chrysler’s trust resulted in additional orders for modules. Hyundai Mobis received additional orders for the chassis modules used in the Jeep Cherokee and Dodge Durango in 2010. As Chrysler’s strategic partner, Hyundai Mobis participated in the bidding as a single vendor without any competitors. In particular, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is Chrysler’s core model that enjoys a high level of customer loyalty. As the American auto market is recovering and the SUV fever continues to sweep across the US, the Michigan plant has become so vibrant that it is now producing more than its annual capacity of 360,000.

“We have continuously supplied modules to Chrysler for 10 years due to quality and trust,” said Park Jin-woo, head of MNA (director). “We will capitalize on our success and know-how to continuously drive new orders in the North American market.”