AKIPRESS.COM - South Korea's largest carmaker Hyundai Motor said Wednesday it will sign a preliminary agreement to build a fourth plant in China, as it looks to expand in the world's biggest car market, GMA News reported.

Chairman Chung Mong-Koo will put his name to the deal on Thursday.

With an annual production capacity of 300,000 cars, the plant in the southwestern city of Chongqing is scheduled for completion in 2016 and will mark a “new leap forward” in the country, Hyundai added.

The firm already has three car plants on the outskirts of Beijing that currently produce a combined 1.05 million units per year, as well as a commercial vehicle plant in Sichuan Province with an annual capacity of 160,000.

Hyundai's sister company Kia Motors has three plants in Jiangsu Province that can produce a total of 740,000 units a year.

The construction of new plants is essential for Hyundai-Kia Motor Group to keep up with its current market share of near 10% in China.