China has banned the import of products from Hyundai and Kia after complaints that they violated anti-trust laws in pressing local dealers to meet sales targets.
There has been no notification sent to Hyundai from the Chinese government, however, and the car company hopes that the import ban will be lifted soon. Hyundai spokesman Jake Jang said that the ban only applies to cars produced in South Korean plants by Hyundai and Kia. The vehicles produced by Hyundai and Kia plants IN China are obviously not impacted by this import ban.
Jang believes that the banning comes from local Hyundai dealer outlets in China responding to pressure from South Korean companies to move merchandise and sell more vehicles. This violates anti-trust laws. Of course, Hyundai denies violating any anti-trust laws.
“We did not pressurise them (the dealers) to meet targets and I’m sure there is some way to resolve this,” Jang said.
At this point and time, Hyundai is responsible for exporting about 1500 vehicles a month to China, while Kia operates an exporting to China route of about 800. Word is that Hyundai has about two or three months worth of inventory in the country already, so the import ban may not impact the company until a bit further down the road.