Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Eui-sun inspects the Ioniq 3 production line with employees at Hyundai Motor's plant in Izmit, Turkey, July 30. (Hyundai Motor Group) Hyundai Motor Group said Sunday that Executive Chair Chung Eui-sun visited the company's Turkey plant to inspect production readiness and quality control for the Ioniq 3, Hyundai's first subcompact battery-powered electric vehicle developed for the European market.During his July 30 visit to the automaker's manufacturing facility in Izmit, near Istanbul, Chung reviewed the Ioniq 3 production process from body assembly to final vehicle assembly. He also visited Hyundai Mobis' Battery System Assembly plant to inspect production of battery systems for the model.The Ioniq 3 will enter mass production at the Turkey plant in mid-August before rolling out across Europe in the second half of the year. Built on Hyundai's Electric-Global Modular Platform, the hatchback EV is the first Hyundai model sold in Europe to feature the company's next-generation Pleos Connect infotainment system, along with the latest SmartSense advanced driver assistance technologies. Hyundai aims to sell more than 40,000 vehicles annually beginning next year.The Turkey facility will produce its first electric vehicle with the Ioniq 3 after nearly three decades of manufacturing compact models such as the i10 and i20. Having opened in 1997, the plant expanded its annual production capacity to 200,000 vehicles in 2013 and has produced about 3.4 million vehicles, including the Accent, Grace, Starex, Matrix, i10, i20 and Bayon.Hyundai said the company sold 67,120 vehicles in Turkey last year, up 6.7 percent from a year earlier, while first-half sales rose 2.3 percent on-year to 31,630 units.Chung urged employees to prioritize quality from the start of mass production."We must put quality first from the very beginning of mass production and strengthen our competitiveness with a level of craftsmanship that exceeds customer expectations," Chung said. "Above all, the Ioniq 3 should earn recognition as one of the safest vehicles in Europe."