"Hyundai Aims to Close Gap with Maruti, Bolstered by New Plants"

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), the country's second-largest passenger vehicle manufacturer, has revealed its strategy to narrow the sales disparity with Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) through the expansion of its manufacturing facilities in Chennai and the upcoming plant in Talegaon.

Currently, HMIL faces a significant gap in sales compared to the market leader MSIL, which averages around 1.20 lakh units sold per month, while HMIL's domestic sales stand at approximately 50,000 units per month. Between April 2023 and February this year, MSIL sold 16,07,163 units of passenger vehicles domestically, whereas HMIL sold 5,62,720 units during the same period.

To address this gap, HMIL has announced an investment of approximately ₹33,000 crore to expand its production capacity to one million units and introduce new products.

Unsoo Kim, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HMIL, stated, "We are increasing our production capacity in our existing plant and then in the upcoming plant in Pune (Talegaon). It depends on the size of the market. I see the Indian market is getting stronger, in terms of GDP, India will be the third (in the world) in the short term and also currently the third-largest automobile market. According to the market size increase, we will update our target."

Regarding exports, Kim highlighted the evolving dynamics of the global auto industry, with countries increasingly focusing on manufacturing facilities in India, including the United States. He noted the growing potential in markets such as West Asia, Africa, and Latin America, which present opportunities for increased volumes from India.

Kim added, "We are developing a lot of models (products) for them, so it will help to increase our volume (from India)."

HBL