Hyundai Mobis sets R&D spending at 1.8tr won by 2015

Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea\'s largest auto parts maker, said Wednesday that it plans to spend 1.8 trillion won (US$1.69 billion) on research and development through 2015, with a goal of becoming the world\'s fifth-largest auto parts supplier by 2020. Under its plan, such spending will be focused on developing key auto parts used for eco-friendly and smart cars, the company said. To that end, Hyundai Mobis also plans to jack up its R&D manpower to 2,300 by 2015 from the current 1,800, it said. Hyundai Mobis currently operates R&D centers in the U.S., China, Germany and India. Meanwhile, Hyundai Mobis has spent a total of 60 billion won on building a new R&D center in South Korea for testing newly developed auto parts. The company said its allocation of resources in R&D will help boost competitiveness of Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., its carmaking affiliates under Hyundai Motor Group, the world\'s largest automaker.