Hyundai calls hybrid vehicles "market standard" after 2010

"Kim Min-jin, Senior Vice President of Hyundai, said that hybrid cars will become a market standard after 2010 and that financial support from the government is desperately needed for Korean automakers to commercialize their vehicles in time."

Currently, Kim claims that Korean automakers are 10 years behind Japanese automakers in hybrid development, and that without government subsidies, Korean automakers can't compete because of high import costs for hybrid batteries, etc.

By 2010, however, Hyundai believes those high costs will finally start to materialize into profits as increased production reduces costs and increases performance of hybrid batteries, etc. Consequently, just after 2008, Hyundai believes it can "launch a new vehicle that is superior to Japanese cars in both price and performance."