Hyundai plans to make India a car production hub for emerging markets

HMI Managing Director Unsoo Kim said in a conference call that the car major would be expanding production to meet the growing demand in the domestic market as well as the export market in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and South Asia

New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India (HMI), the country’s second largest carmaker, has drawn up ambitious expansion plans for making India a production hub that will also cater to the rising export demand for its vehicles in the emerging markets.

HMI Managing Director Unsoo Kim said in a conference call that the car major would be expanding production to meet the growing demand in the domestic market as well as the export market in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and South Asia.

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“We are seeing the domestic volume is increasing and the export market is also increasing. And then, we have a very suitable product lineup for emerging markets,” Kim said.

Kim said that a healthy mix of domestic and export volumes will enable the company to not only secure profitability but gain a natural hedge against market fluctuations.

Hyundai Motor India has recently expanded its production capacity by acquiring a new plant in Pune to cater to the growing demand. The addition brings Hyundai’s overall manufacturing capacity in India to 1.1 million units.

“We are developing our EV ecosystem in India. We are planning to launch four EV models, including the CRETA EV. And we are also localizing EV supply chains like the battery pack, driver train and the battery shell,” Kim said.

Hyundai claims to have recorded a robust 30 per cent growth in registrations, further strengthening its market position. Inventory levels now stand at under four weeks.

Hyundai is also poised to launch new models like the Alcazar facelift and the highly anticipated Creta EV to push sales and garner a bigger market share.

However, during the July-September quarter ,export volumes slowed due to the disruption in shipping caused by the attacks in the Red Sea region which are a fallout of the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East.

Hyundai Motor India listed in the stock markets last month following a $3.3-billion IPO that was the country’s largest-ever primary share sale. The issue was subscribed over 2.37 times.

The offer received bids for 23.63 crore shares as against 9.97 crore shares on offer. The Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) category was subscribed 6.97 times. The Non Institutional Investors (NIIs) category was subscribed 0.60 times.

The Retail Individual Investors (RIIs) category was subscribed 0.50 times. The automaker’s share has slipped more than 10 per cent from its IPO price.