Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), the manufacturer of the iconic i10 and i20 compact cars in the country, faces a steep drop in export orders for 2009. “I’m concerned at the low export orders we have got so far for the next year. Since, we contribute to over 90 per cent of the total volume of passengers vehicles exported from India we need help from the government,” said HS Lheem, managing director & CEO of HMIL during the launch of the i20, a premium compact car, in the capital today.
Hyundai’s advanced export orders for 2009 for the first three months, according to the company, stands at 24,000 units, which is over 50 per cent down compared to the exports achieved during the same period in 2008.
Between January and November 2008, HMIL exported about 2.21 lakh cars to over 95 countries from its manufacturing plant in Chennai, which is a 92 per cent growth over the last year. In the face of uncertainty in markets across Europe, which is the company’s biggest export market, Lheem wants the government to extend the benefits under “market-linked focus product scheme ”, reserved for exports to Latin American and African countries.
Under MLFPS and focussed market scheme, car exporters get a duty rebate in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 per cent. This duty rebate is not available for Hyundai’s exports to Europe. Hyundai, recently, cut its three-shift production schedule to two-shift and in the process laid off about 2000 temporary workers at its plants in Chennai.
