- Attains this milestone in just over a decade
- Fastest 25 lakh production
Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the largest exporter and the second largest car manufacturer, today crossed another significant milestone as it rolled out over 25 lakh cars from its state-of-the-art production facility located at Sriperumbedur, approximately 35 km outside Chennai.
HMIL started production at Sriperumbedur in 1998 and the first car Santro was launched in September, 1998. The Santro went off to become one of the most popular cars in the Indian automobile market as well as in the overseas market with total cumulative sales of around 15 lakh units till date.
Along with the Santro, HMIL also rolled out the Accent in 1999 which too has many firsts to its credit and was the only car at that time in its segment which came with a common rail direct injection (CRDi). Currently, HMIL manufacturers around seven models from its manufacturing plant with the i10 and the i20 being the latest. The i10 has taken over the mantle from the Santro as the largest selling compact with cumulative sales reaching almost 5 lakh units in just about two years since its launch in October, 2007. HMIL has been designated as the small car hub and all its compact cars like the Santro, i10 and the i20 is only manufactured in India and currently exported to over 100 countries.
Out of the total 25 lakh units that were produced approximately 16 lakh units were sold in the country while as the remaining 9 lakh units were exported. The exported models include Santro, i10, i20, Accent and the Getz.
This record car production is an add-on to HMIL’s short but successful journey in the country, a path marked by several commendable milestones. A trendsetter right from the initial days of its operations, HMIL’s other achievements include setting up the Chennai plant in record time of just 17 months, becoming the second largest carmaker in India in just 6 months and rolling out 150,000 cars in record 25 months. The company also set up a second plant which was commissioned in February, 2008 with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units taking the total capacity up to 600,000 units per annum.
While commenting on this significant milestone Arvind Saxena, Sr VP, Marketing and Sales, HMIL said: “It is a proud moment for Hyundai as it is not only the second manufacturer to have achieved this but also the fastest. Our achievements have to be seen in the context of what we have also achieved in the overseas market. Before HMIL started exporting ‘Made-in-India’ cars hardly had any presence in the international market but today they are present in over 100 countries and Indian made cars are acceptable in terms of quality and performance and this is a very significant achievement for not only HMIL but also the Indian automotive industry. Reaching the 25 lakh landmark is a reflection of the trust of our customers and also testimony to the reliability of our products.”
HMIL currently enjoys a 20.5% market share in the Indian market with a dealership network spanning 202 cities and 275 outlets. In November this year, Hyundai recorded the highest ever sales in HMIL’s history with sales touching a cumulative 55,265 units. Apart from this, Hyundai is also looking at expanding its export base to 125 countries in order to expand its overseas market.
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About HMIL
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea and is the second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter from India. HMIL presently markets 55 variants of passenger cars across segments including the i20 CRDi and i20 Automatic variants. The Santro in the B segment, the Getz Prime, i10 and the Premium hatchback i20 in the B+ segment, the Accent and the Verna in the C segment, the Sonata in the E segment and the Tucson in the SUV segment.
Hyundai Motor India, continuing its tradition of being the fastest growing passenger car manufacturer, registering total sales of 489,328 vehicles in the calendar year (CY) 2008, an increase of 49.6 percent over CY 2007. In the domestic market it clocked a growth of 22.4 percent as compared to 2007 with 245,397 units, while overseas sales grew by 92.5 percent, with exports of 243,931 units.
HMIL's fully integrated state-of-the-art manufacturing plant near Chennai boasts of the most advanced production, quality and testing capabilities in the country. In continuation of its commitment to provide the Indian customer with global technology, HMIL commissioned its second plant in February 2008 which produces an additional 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL's total production capacity to 600,000 units per annum.
HMIL has invested to expand capacity in line with its positioning as HMC's global export hub for compact cars. Apart from the expansion of production capacity, HMIL currently has 275 strong dealer network across India, which will be further bolstered in 2009.
In 2008, HMIL also successfully completed 10 glorious years of operations in India and to commemorate its achievements, initiated a unique trans-continental drive from Delhi to Paris in two of its hugely popular i10 Kappa cars. The drive created automobile history by completing a distance of 10,000km in just 17 days after which the i10s were showcased at the Paris Motor Show in October. In fact it was at the Paris Motor Show that HMIL first unveiled the Hyundai i20 and the car received a phenomenal response from the auto enthusiasts across the world. Hyundai Motor India also accomplished the landmark of producing the fastest 20th lakh cars in India in 2008.
Like 2008, the year 2007 had also been a significant year for Hyundai Motor India. It achieved a significant milestone by rolling out the fastest 400,000th export car. Hyundai exported to over 100 countries globally; even as it plans to continue its thrust in existing export markets, it is gearing up to step up its foray into new markets. 2007 also saw the launch of the i10 and yet another path-breaking record in its young journey by rolling out the fastest 1,500,000th car.
Hyundai's new model i10 made a clean sweep of all the 'Car of the Year 2008' awards from the leading automotive magazines and TV channels like BS Motoring, CNBC-TV18 AutoCar, NDTV Profit Car & Bike India and Overdrive magazine. The i10 was also the choice of the discerning automotive media of the country as they conferred the prestigious 'Indian Car of the Year' (ICOTY) award to the i10 as well.
The Santro and the Accent also received the 'TNS Voice of the Customer - 2008' award for the Premium Compact Car (Santro) and the Entry Mid size Car (Accent). In March 2008 it achieved yet another milestone by rolling out the fastest 500,000th export car. In 2007, the Hyundai Verna had also bagged some of the most prestigious awards starting with the Overdrive magazine's 'Car of the Year 2007', the 'Best Mid-size Car of the Year' award from NDTV Profit Car & Bike India, the 'Best Value for Money Car' from CNBC Autocar and 'Performance Car of the Year' from Business Standard Motoring.
Hyundai cars have been a favourite at all awards ceremonies and has won many awards. The Sonata Embera won the 'Executive Car of The Year 2006' award from Business Standard Motoring magazine and NDTV Profit Car & Bike India had declared the Tucson as the 'SUV of The Year 2006'.
Not only this, HMIL has also been awarded the benchmark ISO 14001 certification for its sustainable environment management practices.
Corporate website: www.hyundai.co.in