But the company went through a complete makeover from a simple assembly operation on a CKD (complete knock-down) basis. The analyst said that the facility will see a marked improvement in productivity and profitability by 2015. "Already the i10 production has shifted to the Turkish plant from India, with new cars coming out of the assembly line from this month. Once the production of the i20 facelift model comes on stream, the role of the Turkish plant will have changed from satisfying domestic demand to a full-fledged export base for the European market," the analyst added.

 

Given Turkey has signed in the mid-1990s a customs union with the European Union by which goods can travel between the two regions without any customs restrictions, the Turkish plant has advantage over the Indian production base. Once a free trade agreement between Korea and Turkey comes into effect, the cost of parts and components will go down further. According to Lyu, Hyundai cars are the sixth most popular brand in Turkey, with its customer satisfaction level in 2013 overtaking Toyota for the first time in history.