Hyundai to launch at least one new car model in India a year

Uplifted by a growing Indian auto market, Hyundai has decided to launch at least one new car in India every year even as moves are going on to expand the rural marketing network and localize more components.

“Our plan is to introduce more than one new model every year and refurbish more than one existing model to gain market share,” said Han Woo Park, the company’s managing director. “In addition we will expand our dealership for deeper market penetration in India,” Han said about the Indian market where the company has the capacity to produce 600,000 cars per annum from its two units in Chennai, of which a third is exported.

Hyundai claims to be India’s largest exporter of cars and second largest passenger car manufacturer after the Indo-Japanese Maruti-Suzuki. Last fiscal, the company’s Indian operations accounted for 600,588 cars, a 20.8 percent growth over the year before.

The company’s current offerings in India include the Santro King, i10, i20, Accent, Verna and Sonata Transform. Among the new cars to be launched in India, is a diesel variant of its popular i10 model that is being exported out of Chennai, with the engines sourced from South Korea.

The Santa Fe SUV, a new Sonata sedan and fully refurbished i20 and i10 models are also on the cards. “The growth is higher in markets beyond the 40 major Indian cities. Our main priority is the domestic market where the demand is increasing. A fall in exports is not a major concern,” said Han.

The Indian plant has exported about 50,000 units of the Hyundai i20 to the European Union, which is now catered by the group’s plant in Turkey owing to the duty advantage the country is getting as an associate member of the European Union.