Hyundai Motor India has reached a major milestone in its two decade long local presence by rolling out their 3 millionth export vehicle. This vehicle was the recently launched Hyundai Aura compact sedan that will be exported under the Grand i10 moniker to the Colombian market.
HMIL’s first export batch comprised of 20 Santros that were transported to Nepal in 1999. Who knew that they would grow on a gigantic scale in the coming years. In October 2004, Hyundai had already exported 1 lakh vehicles, taking the scale up to 5 lakh in 2008 and 10 lakh in February 2010. In the next four years, Hyundai Motor India Limited expanded production to such a mammoth scale that it exported as many vehicles as it did in the previous decade – 10 lakh vehicles just between February 2010 and March 2014. Currently, the brand has a 26 per cent market share, making it the second largest carmaker in India after Maruti Suzuki India Limited.
Hyundai’s current export lineup includes the Atos (Santro), Grand i10, Xcent, Grand i10 NIOS, Aura, Elite i20, i20 Active, Accent (Verna), Venue and Creta, respectively. These made-in-India cars are exported to 88 countries in four continents – Latin America (33 countries), Africa (28 countries), Asia Pacific (26 countries) and Europe (One country). In APAC region, especially in Saudi Arabia, the Creta and the Verna (sold as Accent) are segment leaders with 40 per cent and 33 per cent market shares, respectively.
The brand has also revealed that the BS6 versions of the Santro, Grand i10 and the Elite i20 are ready and are currently available in the global markets. Their official Indian launch will take place at the Auto Expo where we’re also expecting to see the next generation Creta and some concept cars from Hyundai.