Hyundai show perks up Jaipur

Some 50 owners of the Hyundai Santro in the Pink City began their long weekend with a bang. At the "Miles 'n' Smiles" rally, organised by Hyundai Motor India on Saturday, they got a joy ride in their favourite car.

The Servo "Miles & Smiles rally" was organised by Hyundai Motor India for its Santro customers--to give them a chance to gauge the mileage of their car and also win prizes in the process. Santro drivers who got the best mileage were given cash awards.

The winner of the rally was Jagdish Prasad, who won a package of three nights and four days fully-paid holiday for two in Kathmandu. Vinod Suklecha won the second prize of three nights and four days' holiday package for two in Mussoorie, and Ashok Jindal won the third prize of three nights and four days holiday package for two in Nainital.

Crossing a distance of around 70 km starting from an Indian Oil fuel station near Entertainment Paradise, going up to a junction point (on he route Sikar-Delhi-Jaipur highway), and returning back to Entertainment Paradise""this was the contest. The rally was flagged off at 3 pm by N Raja, general manager, Hyundia Motor India.

This is the second rally in northern India after Ludhiana. Chandigarh, Lucknow, and New Delhi will also witness such rallies in the next few weeks.

Hyundai is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea, and is the second-largest and the fastest-growing car manufacturer in India. The firm markets over 25 variants of passenger cars in six segments.

The Santro in the B segment, Getz in the B+ segment, the Accent in the C segment, the Elantra in the D segment, the Sonata in the E segment and the Tucson and Terracan in the SUV segment.

The company recorded combined sales of 215,630 during calendar year 2004 with a growth of 43 per cent over year 2003. HMIL is India's fastest growing car company having rolled-out over 700,000 cars in just over 70 months since its inception and is the largest exporter of passenger cars with exports of over Rs. 1,700 crores. HMIL has recorded a staggering growth of 149 per cent in exports over the year 2003.

HMIL's fully integrated state-of-the-art manufacturing plant near Chennai boasts some of the most advanced production, quality and testing capabilities in the country.

In continuation with investment in providing the Indian customer global technology, HMIL has announced plans for its second plant, which will produce 150,000 units per annum, raising HMIL's total production capacity to 400,000 per annum by 2007.

The plant will be built on a 2.1 million square meter site adjacent to the existing facility with an investment of $450-$500 million on its new integrated facility. HMIL is investing to expand capacity in line with its positioning as HMC's global export hub for compact cars.

Apart from expansion of production capacity, HMIL plans to expand its dealer network, which will be increased from 146 to 180 this year. And with the company's greater focus on the quality of its after-sales service, HMIL's service network will be expanded to over 1,000 in 2005.