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| A massive vehicle cargo vessel operated by Hyundai Glovis is docked in the German port of Bremerhaven, Thursday. Korea Times file |
By Kim Yoo-chul
Hyundai Glovis, a logistics affiliate of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group, signed an agreement with Volkswagen's logistics unit under which Glovis will handle the delivery of Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche and Bentley-branded vehicles.
The estimated monetary value of the contract is $432 million. The contract will be effective by 2024, Glovis said in a statement.
Specifically, under the five-year contract with Volkswagen Konzernlogistik, the South Korean logistics company will be in charge of delivering these branded vehicles from Europe to China over the agreed period. Glovis said the deal is exclusive.
"Glovis won some delivery agreements specifically on the routes spanning East Asia, North America and Europe but there were not enough available cargo vessels on our way back to East Asia from Europe. The latest agreement with the German automotive group helps Glovis secure quite stable delivery deals all across the routes," a company official said Thursday.
Glovis is heavily dependent upon Hyundai Motor and its sister company Kia Motors for generating corporate revenue and profits. In 2019, however, Glovis' delivery deals with top-tier carmakers accounted for 53 percent of its total sales, amounting to 2.05 trillion won, the release added.
The Volkswagen agreement came years after Glovis signed China's Changjiu Group to establish two separate joint ventures focusing on China's used car retail business and automotive sea logistics.
Glovis is also betting big on the growth potential of the used vehicle segment in China, the world's largest car market. But Glovis didn't say its recent contract with Volkswagen Group's affiliate unit included its role to handle the delivery of used vehicles.
