Hyundai Motor topped the R&D list with 1.84 trillion won (US$2.97 billion), followed by Kia Motors Corp. (1.24 trillion won), GM Korea (564.3 billion won), Ssangyong Motor (153.5 billion won) and Renault Samsung (140.6 billion won).
Hyundai’s R&D investment won accounted for 2.1 percent of its sales earnings, while Kia's spending constituted 2.6 percent of its earnings.
The comparable figure stood at 4.4 percent for Ssangyong, 4.2 percent for Renault Samsung and 3.6 percent for GM Korea.
This year, Hyundai plans to invest 3.01 trillion won for development and assembly lines for new cars, while Kia has set aside 1.07 trillion won for R&D and infrastructure building.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com