Hyundai Motor Group, headquartered in South Korea, announced on Thursday its intention to elevate the annual production capacity across Hyundai and Kia brands in India to 1.5 million units per year. This expansion forms a key component of the group’s mid-to-long-term strategy within the country. The plan involves leveraging a newly acquired plant and scaling up production at existing facilities, with a specific emphasis on electric vehicles (EVs). Hyundai aims to introduce its inaugural locally-produced EV next year, while Kia plans to follow suit in 2025.
Hyundai Motor Group’s Executive Chair, Euisun Chung, outlined the company’s strategy for the Indian market, emphasizing plans to introduce more EVs and establish the country as an export hub for neighboring nations. Chung’s visit to India on April 23 aimed to review the group’s mid-to-long-term strategies in order to strengthen its position as a leading mobility provider.
The company stated its expansion of manufacturing capabilities in the Indian region, aiming to establish an annual production system of 1.5 million vehicle units for Hyundai Motor India and Kia India combined. Hyundai Motor India is set to commence operations at its Pune plant, acquired from General Motors last year, in the latter half of the upcoming year.
Hyundai Motor is currently enhancing its facility to establish a production hub capable of manufacturing more than 200,000 units annually, the company stated. When combined with the Chennai plant’s production capacity of 824,000 units, Hyundai Motor will achieve an annual production capacity exceeding one million units with the inclusion of the Pune plant, it added. Additionally, Kia India’s yearly production capacity will be expanded to 431,000 units within the first half of this year.
“HMG stated that collectively, Hyundai Motor Group will possess the capacity to manufacture approximately 1.5 million units annually in India. The group further intends to broaden its EV portfolio and establish an EV ecosystem to expedite customer adoption and enhance charging infrastructure. Additionally, HMG expressed its commitment to reinforcing its SUV sales dominance in India. Hyundai Motor India disclosed its plan to introduce its inaugural locally produced EV in India next year.”
The company stated its intention to commence mass production of its inaugural electric SUV model at the Chennai plant by the end of 2024. Hyundai Motor plans to extend its EV lineup by introducing five additional models by 2030. Furthermore, Hyundai Motor India aims to leverage its sales network hubs, with plans to increase the number of EV charging stations to 485 by 2030, as per HMG’s announcement.
Kia India is set to initiate production of its indigenous EV model in 2025 and intends to expand its EV offerings thereafter. The company also emphasized its commitment to developing EV charging infrastructure.
“India is among the fastest-growing economies globally, and as this growth continues the strategic importance of Hyundai Motor India will only increase,” Chung said while addressing employees in a town hall meeting. He further said, “by leveraging our strong reputation and competitive quality in India, we aim to expand exports to neighbouring countries, making India the global export hub to boost our regional market competitiveness.”
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