Looking at Hyundai Motor America, a division of Korea-based Hyundai Motor Co., it would be hard to tell there is a global economic crisis. Hyundai's U.S. car sales were up 20% in 2011 compared with 2010's sales. In total, Hyundai sold 645,691 cars this past year in the U.S. The company is tearing down its existing U.S. headquarters in Fountain Valley, Calif.—about 30 miles south of Los Angeles—and investing $150 million in a new one. Hyundai joins other major corporations—Google and Coca-Cola, for example—that are putting significant resources into their corporate homes.
Hyundai’s U.S. business has expanded significantly since it first moved into its current headquarters in 1990. “Since that time, we have simply outgrown our current building as our business in the U.S. market has continued to grow,” says a Hyundai spokesperson. Hyundai has grown to become the fifth-largest automobile company in the world.