India is the third largest market for Hyundai in terms of volumes behind the United States and Korea currently
On its way to record the highest-ever total volumes when domestic and exports combined, Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) aims to get past the six lakh sales market for the first time this calendar year in the local market. The second-largest car producer in the country has also endured a fruitful festive season courtesy of its latest launches.
The South Korean auto major brought in the new generation Verna, all-new Exter and facelifted i20 this year while the Creta and Alcazar Adventure Editions were also introduced along with the Venue Knight Edition. India is the third largest market for Hyundai in terms of volumes behind the United States and Korea as it contributes to a total of 18.6 per cent in the first nine months of this CY.
The Hyundai Exter micro SUV competes with Tata Punch in India and it has garnered close to one lakh bookings in a short span of time. The Creta has been the highest-selling midsize SUV in India for years with over 9.5 lakh unit sales and it will be receiving a major update early next year with a host of revisions inside and out accompanied by a new powertrain.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has also posted nearly 1,000 unit sales, twice that of the initial estimates. The company ramped up its production capacity by 50,000 units this year to a total of 8.2 lakh units and it penned down a deal with General Motors to acquire the Talegaon plant in August. The new plant will play a big role in Hyundai’s target of reaching one million production milestone in the near future.
Moreover, Hyundai has committed to invest around Rs. 20,000 at its Sriperumbudur plant near Chennai, Tamil Nadu as part of bringing in new vehicles, expansion of its capacity and a new battery assembling plant. The new 1.5L turbocharged petrol engine producing 160 PS and 253 Nm has made its way to many Hyundai and Kia models over the last one year and is also heavily localised.
Hyundai achieved full marks in Global NCAP crash tests courtesy of the new-gen Verna and it has become the first automaker in India to standardise six airbags across its entire lineup. Besides planning to make ADAS available for all models in its portfolio, Hyundai is taking notable steps to build the EV charging infrastructure in India.