The success story that is Hyundai continues to expand globally, with the South-Korean firm confirming that it’s looking to build another factory – the firm’s third in India.
Hyundai is now the world's fifth-largest car-manufacturing group, together with its sister company, Kia. After dedicating the last two years to improving quality and putting expansion on the back-burner, Hyundai has now started several new plant projects.
Building is under way on one of two new factories set to open in China and the firm is also mulling over a new facility in the United States. Kia, meanwhile, is constructing a factory over the border in Mexico.
The group’s Chairman, Chung Mong-Koo, has met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and told the press that a new Indian plant was under consideration. A spokesman clarified that no final decision had yet been made on that or on whether the new factory would manufacture Hyundai or Kia.
The Hyundai Motor Co is huge in India and is second in market share only to Maruti Suzuki. It already owns two factories in Chennai in the south of the country, where around 680,000 vehicles roll off the production lines every year. Kia has less of a presence in India, thanks to high import taxes.
Earlier this year, an Indian newspaper reported that Kia's chief executive was keen to build a factory there to tap into local growth. Narendra Modi’s Indian government is also keen to encourage new jobs through manufacturing to cement and improve India’s position as Asia's third-largest economy.
The car market in India is the sixth largest in the world and is forecast to expand rapidly as the economy grows and incomes improve. Last year, sales accounted for 2% of the economy, but economic experts are predicting a huge leap of up to 8% in the year ending 31 March 2016.
Hyundai Motors is aiming to sell around 650,000 vehicles manufactured at the Chennai plants this year. That’s 4% up on 2014. Around 470,000 of these will sell in India and the rest will be exported, in line with Hyundai’s position as India's biggest car exporter.
Here at Howards Motor Group in North Somerset and Dorset, we stock a comprehensive range of new and approved used Hyundais. The Korean cars come with a super reputation for quality and there’s one in the range for you – from the well-equipped, practical hatch, the i10, to the smart executive saloon and tourer, the i40, to the rugged five- or seven-seat SUV, the Santa Fe.
To book a test drive on a new or used Hyundai, get down to a Howards Motor Group showroom in Yeovil soon or email us here for more information.