Hanbul to put Peugeot in fast lane; Aims to grab 10% of local imported car market next year.

(From The Korea Herald)

By Kim Hyun-chul These days, Hanbul Motors Corp.'s showroom for Peugeot vehicles in Cheongdam-dong, southern Seoul, is packed with dozens of cars waiting to be delivered to their new owners.

"This month, we plan to have 50 cars delivered to our customers, who have waited a long time for these vehicles to be imported," said Song Seung-chul, head of Hanbul Motors Corp., the official importer and distributor of vehicles made by Automobiles Peugeot, a division of French automotive giant PSA Peugeot Citroen.

Although Peugeot is Europe's second-largest and the world's sixth-biggest auto brand in sales, it was only early this month that the vehicles were introduced in Korea.

Until recently, it was the only major foreign vehicle brand that was not available to Korean consumers.

In fact, Peugeot came to Korea in 1988, but left the country soon in the wake of the Asian economic crisis that hit the nation in late 1997.

Now Peugeot is back in Korea after Song's Hanbul Motors signed a deal with the French automaker to sell its vehicles here.