Hyundai Motor India crosses the three million export car production milestone
Hyundai Motor India became the fastest carmaker in the country to manufacture three million cars for the export market. The firm achieved this landmark with an example of the recently launched Hyundai Aura, earmarked for the Columbian market. The compact sedan is being exported to 88 countries from India.
Hyundai is the largest exporter of passenger cars from India, holding 26 per cent of the market. The Korean carmaker began exporting cars in 1999 when the first batch of 20 Santro cars was sent to Nepal. The one lakh mark was crossed in under five years in October 2004. The five lakh mark was crossed in March 2008. The one millionth milestone was reached in February 2010 and the two millionth mark in March 2014.
The carmaker exports 10 models from India. These are the Santro, Grand i10, Xcent, Nios, Aura, Elite i20, i20 Active, Verna, Venue and Creta. These models are sold under various nameplates depending on the market. In fact, Hyundai India makes 792 variants of its export cars as consumer preference in different markets.
Of the 88 countries that Hyundai India exports to, 33 are in Latin America, 28 in Africa, 26 in the Asia Pacific region and one in Europe. The Creta and Accent (Verna in India) are segment leaders in Saudi Arabia with 40 per cent and 33 per cent market share respectively. In Libya, Hyundai is the leader in the passenger car market with 80 per cent share. It's at the top position in Nepal too with 29 per cent. It's in the second spot in Peru with a 12.4 per cent share and third in South Africa with 8.5 per cent.
The Hyundai Aura is the brand's latest offering for the Indian market. It's a sub-four-metre sedan that largely replaces the Xcent, with prices starting from Rs 5.8 lakh.