South Korean carmaker Hyundai on Thursday said the company has enough production capacity in India for at least a couple of years even as it has been seeing good demand (month-on-month) for its vehicles, which pushed the company closer to full capacity utilisation levels. The company, which had recorded the highest-ever domestic sales of 56,605 units and exports of 12,230 units with cumulative sales of 68,835 units in October, said it has achieved near full capacity utilisation while indicating that it can continue with the current capacity at its Chennai plants for at least a couple of years. In a virtual interaction with mediapersons on the sidelines of the launch of the new i20, Hyundai Motor India director (sales, marketing & service) Tarun Garg said the company’s internal assessment of the market suggests that the current capacity of 7.65 lakh units per annum is good enough for at least a couple of years.
“We have an annual capacity of 7.65 lakh units per annum and having achieved the October number of 68, 835 units sales, we are almost near full capacity utilisation. However, we have enough capacity for at least for a couple of years which will take care of both the domestic and export markets,” Garg said. On Thursday, Hyundai launched the next-generation version of its best-selling premium hatchback i20 priced Rs 6.79-11.18 lakh.
Garg said the company has already got 10,000 bookings for the new i20 and will take a call on the exports of the products at a later stage. Hyundai said it has a 33% market share in the premium hatchback segment and with the the new offering, it expects to scale it up further. “i20 has been a strong brand globally having sold 25 lakh units and out of it, 10 lakh units have been sold in India since its introduction in 2008,” he said.
As per the company’s research, around 10 lakh people have either postponed or decided against buying a car due to uncertain market conditions because of the pandemic situation, Garg said on the demand scenario, adding that the company is of the view that the long-term pull in the market would depend upon the overall macroeconomic situation.
Speaking on the launch, Hyundai Motor India MD & CEO SS Kim said, “As a customer-centric organisation, we have developed the all-new i20 to offer state-of-the-art technologies and flamboyant design. Hyundai has packaged the all-new i20 as a future-ready car that will not just become the pinnacle of this segment, but set the benchmark for automobiles in India.”
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