Hyundai is set to purchase the factory run by General Motors in India’s western state of Maharashtra in a move that will help the South Korean car manufacturer significantly increase its local production rates.
GM has been attempting to find a buyer for its Talegaon plant ever since the car manufacturer stopped selling cars in India back in 2017 due to plummeting sales. GM originally reached an agreement with Great Wall Motor to sell the plant in 2019 but the deal fell through because Indian authorities were not keen on a significant investment from China.
Reuters notes that GM’s former plant will join the Sriperumbudur plant that Hyundai currently operates outside Chennai city and will help it to boost its total Indian production capacity to 1 million units per year, up from the 820,000-unit capacity it had in the first half of this year. A host of Hyundai models are currently built in India, including the i10 Nios, i20, Aura, Verna, Venue, Creta, Alcazar, Tucson, and the electric Ioniq 5.
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Managing director and chief executive of Hyundai Motor India, Unsoo Kim, and vice president of manufacturing of General Motors India and General Motors International Operations, Asifhusen Khatri, finalized the deal at a signing ceremony in Gurugram, Haryana. The agreement includes the acquisition of land and buildings in addition to certain machinery and manufacturing equipment already in the Talegaon plant.
“This year is a significant milestone for Hyundai Motor India, as we celebrate 27 years of activity in the market,” Kim said. “Demonstrating our dedication to India, earlier this year, HMIL entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to invest INR 20,000 crore in Tamil Nadu for expanding capacity and establishing an electric vehicle ecosystem. As we reinforce our commitment to ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-Reliant India), we intend to create an advanced manufacturing center for cars made in India in Talegaon, Maharashtra. Our manufacturing operations are scheduled to begin in Talegaon, Maharashtra, in 2025.”
Hyundai sold 552,511 vehicles in India last year, accounting for a 14.5% share of the local market.