The Hyosung brand’s manufacturer is S&T Motors Company Ltd, a South Korean firm. It was founded in 1978 as a division of the Hyosung Group and the current headquarters is Changwon, with Taekwon Kim as current CEO. The company originally produced Suzuki bikes under licence for the South Korean market, but after building enough internal capacity and know-how, began autonomous self-production.
The company grew by leaps and bounds, and built its own design centre in Hamamatsu, Japan in 1986. It was even successful enough to become official motorcycle supplier to the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and in 2003 the Hyosung Motors and Machinery Company became independent of the mother company and decided to go it alone. It was acquired by the S&T (Science and Technology) Group in 2007, and the name thus changed to S&T Motors.
In the beginning, Hyosung only produced simple, basic transport bikes whose main production ethos was affordability, efficiency and reliability. But they have recently branched into the recreational market, with larger-displacement engines up to 650 cc. The company has even expanded into developed markets like Australia and New Zealand, Northern Europe and North America.
The company’s offerings in New Zealand range from the GT Comet sports bikes, denoted by a ‘R’ in the name, to standard road bikes, to the GV250 and GV650 cruisers, dubbed Aquila. The company also produces off road bikes (the RX series) in addition to ATV’s (All Terrain Vehicles), named the TE Series. Scooters are also produced and sold in other countries and regions, but not in New Zealand.
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