Hyundai Motor Group said Monday that it has decided to exempt franchise deposit of some 2,000 partner companies in charge of customer service across the country, which amounts to 2.2 billion won ($1.8 million).

The automaker said 1,374 Blue Hands centers, a Hyundai Motor and Genesis’ official service provider, and 800 Auto Q centers, Kia Motors’ partner service and maintenance company, will have 50 percent of their franchise fees exempted for three months from March to May. 

For service centers located in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, Hyundai Motor Group said it has exempted 100 percent of franchise deposits for March. 

“We deeply emphathize with service providers who are suffering from difficult business environment. The group will continue to put effort to cooperate with our partnering companies,” said a Hyundai Motor official. 

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)