The green car race continues and now South Korean manufacturer Hyundai-Kia has expressed its desire to get in on the act.

According to a statement made on Monday, the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group will pour $1.1billion into research and development this year, and will hire around 4,500 new staff in an effort to make South Korea one of the world’s top four green car producing nations. On Friday, President Lee Myung-bak held a Liberation Day in which he outlined plans to overhaul the industry and make it more eco-friendly.

Hyundai is set to produce a hybrid Avante compact model next year along with a midsize natural gas hybrid in 2010. Its sister company Kia will begin production of hydrogen cars in 2012 and will aim to commercialise mid-size and large SUV models based on fuel cells by 2010.

As part of the project, Hyundai is likely to invest around 2.7billion won and hire around 600 financial specialists for its investment and security sectors. It is also going to introduce a youth volunteer group with membership of around 1,000.

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