Functioning at near 100 per cent (99.8 per cent) capacity at its Chennai manufacturing facility and Indian market projected to grow significantly, Hyundai Motor India Limited today said, “We will have to consider expansion though no decision has been taken as yet on the expansion.”
Young Jin Ahn, Chief Coordinator, Sales & Marketing Division, HMIL, said Hyundai is possibly the only automotive manufacturer in the country functioning at near full capacity balancing domestic sales with export volumes.
“With the country’s automotive sector poised to grow from about 2.5 million last year to about 4.5 million by 2020, and Hyundai’s market share also set to go up, and our manufacturing hitting full capacity, we would have to consider the option of expansion soon,” he said.
Speaking after commissioning a new dealership in Secunderabad, the Hyundai executive said that the company market share in India is likely to go up from 16.5 per cent past the 17 per cent mark following excellent response for Hyundai i20 and various other models. “We are likely to see our domestic market sales topping 400,000 mark and possibly going up to 4,20,000 this year,” he said.
Referring to the strong response the company has received from Hyundai Elite i20, Young Jin Ahn said “There has been demand for over 9,000 units per month. While all the existing models continue to have good response from the customers, we are keen to expand our presence with the launch of some more models next year. These include Hyundai i20 Crossover and a Compact Sports Utility Vehicle.”
Both the Crossover segment and compact SUVs have seen tremendous response for various automotive manufacturers in the country. While the Crossover is expected in early 2015, the all-new compact SUV is slated for launch in the third quarter of 2015, he said.
“While exports are important for the company, we are keen to expand our market presence in India with more models and also expanding into various parts of the country. The company now has over 410 dealers and is keen to expand this network further to get closer to the customers,” he said.