South Korea’s Hyundai Glovis Co., a logistics unit of Hyundai Motor Group, enters into a strategic partnership with Chinese rival Changjiu Group to expand footprint in China and Europe.

Hyundai Glovis said Wednesday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Changjiu Group to sell a 30 percent stake in its Poland-based Adampol. The terms were undisclosed.

Changjiu Group, headquartered in Beijing, runs automotive logistics business, handling new and used cars, as well as finished car sales and financing. It’s one of the biggest logistics firm in China shipping more than 3.2 million finished cars a year, with its revenue in 2019 amounting to around 7 trillion won ($6.2 billion).

By pulling in the Chinese partner to its European venture, Hyundai Glovis and Changjiu will launch Euro China Train (ECT), the new intermodal rail connection running between China and Europe via Adampol’s rail terminal in Małaszewicze near Polish-Belarusian border.

Changjiu, which ships 4,100 FEU (forty-foot equivalent unit) annually on the Trans China Railway (TCR), serves routes across China, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region and Europe. It will be able to save time and money by exclusively using the transshipment system of Adampol’s terminal, according to Hyundai Glovis.

By leveraging on Changjiu network, Hyundai Glovis expects traction in its foray into logistics markets in Chinese inland cities, Western Europe and Northern Europe amid increased demand for railway shipping which have gotten cheaper versus seaway rates that spiked amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

Shares of Hyundai Glovis closed Wednesday 1.55 percent higher at 196,500 won in Seoul.

By Lee Soo-min

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]