Hyundai Motor rolls out three millionth car from TN plant

: Korean auto-maker Hyundai Motor India achieved a significant milestone by rolling out its three millionth 'made in India' car being shipped to overseas market from the Tamil Nadu manufacturing unit, a top official said on Thursday.

The three millionth car was the company's latest sedan Hyundai Aura which has been rechristened 'Grand i10' for the Colombian market, rolled out from the assembly line at the state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in nearby Sriperumbudur.

The company on the occasion also said that it has begun export of Hyundai Aura range of cars, besides shipping other models.

The rollout of the three millionth car was the fastest since inception of the unit in 1998.

"The fastest Made in India 3 millionth export car rollout is a significant milestone as it showcases the global success story for Hyundai," Hyundai Motor India Managing director S S Kim said.

"We started our export operations in 1999 and created many milestones. We thank all our global customers and overseas distributors for their trust...," he said.

HMIL began exporting cars in 1999 with the first batch comprising 20 units of popular hatchback 'Santro' being shipped to Nepal.

Later, it reached the first milestone of exporting one lakhth carin October 2004.

In March 2008, the company exported its five lakhth car followed by 10 lakhth car and 20 lakhth car in February 2010 and March 2014 respectively.

In 2019, Hyundai Motor shipped 1.81 lakh units with 792 customised variants according to country specific preference and demand, Kim who is also the company CEO, said at an event at the manufacturing facility.

With a market share of 26 per cent in 2019 to the total exports of passenger cars from India, Hyundai has been a significant contributor to the Indian automobile industry, he said.

Kim said the company during the last two decades had invested Rs 24,000 crore at it's manufacturing unit.

The company has already announced Rs 7,000 crore additional investments which include new product launches and powertrain enhancement, he added.

Chennai Port Trust Chairman P Raveendran, who was present on the occasion, congratulated Hyundai Motor India for reaching the export milestone.

He said the Port Trust started focusing on three C's --Containers, Cars and Cruise.

Hyundai Motor India ships 13 car models across segments including the electric vehicle 'Kona' to 88 countries in four continents including Africa, Middle East, Latin America, Australia and the Asia Pacific.

HMIL has 515 dealers and more than 1,329 service points across India.