Hyundai Capital Services Inc., South Korea's top consumer finance company, said Sunday that it has launched an auto-financing joint venture in Britain to help strengthen its affiliated automaker's sales there.
The auto financing joint venture with Santander Consumer Finance U.K., capitalized at 36 billion won (US$31.3 million), will be 50 percent owned by each side, according to Hyundai Capital.
Hyundai Capital, a subsidiary of South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co., has been stepping up efforts to set up auto finance companies in Europe and South America.
Santander Consumer Finance is the British subsidiary of Santander Consumer, the leading consumer finance house in Europe.
Cooperation between the South Korean automaker and the European consumer financing firm began in 2009 when their affiliates set up a joint finance firm in Germany.