South Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Co.’s compact sedan Avante has sold more than 15 million units globally as of September, reaching the milestone 33 years after its release.

According to Hyundai Motor on Sunday, a total of 15.03 million units of Avante, excluding strategic models in China, have been sold.

Avante was first launched in 1990 as a front-wheel drive midsize car named Elantra. Starting from its second-generation model, Avante became a flagship model for exports, with its overseas sales reaching more than 640,000 units to surpass domestic sales.

More than 3.68 million units of the fifth-generation Avante MD, released in 2010, were sold over nine years, recording the highest sales among all Avante generations.

The sixth-generation Avante AD became a stable export model with more than 360,000 units in domestic sales and 2.05 million units in overseas sales.

The seventh-generation Avante CN7, which was released in 2020 with favorable reviews for its design, has topped 1 million in sales in three years since its launch.

When Maeil Business Newspaper visited Hyundai Motor’s Ulsan Plant 3 last week, Avante was being produced every 9.6 seconds.

Established in 1990, Ulsan Plant 3 produces 367,000 finished vehicles annually. It is the first factory in Ulsan to have an automated production system for presses and bodies.

The plant’s Line 2 manufactures Avante and i30, and Line 1 produces Avante and small sport utility vehicles (SUVs) Venue and Kona.

Ulsan Plant 3 is Hyundai Motor’s first plant to pilot the method of producing multiple vehicle models simultaneously since August last year.

It affords the flexibility to adjust shipments according to domestic and global vehicle demand without having to build new production lines.

By Park Je-wan and Choi Jieun

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]