Hyundai completes acquisition of Talegaon plant

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) on Friday said it has completed the acquisition of General Motors's Talegaon Plant in Maharashtra.

The country's second-largest carmaker has committed to invest ₹6,000 crore in Maharashtra as part of an agreement signed with the state government in Davos, Switzerland.

The Talegaon manufacturing plant will play the role of a catalyst in achieving Hyundai India’s 1 million annual production capacity milestone.

The acquisition has been completed post fulfilment of certain conditions and receipt of regulatory approvals from relevant government authorities and relevant stakeholders, the carmaker says.

“India is a very important market for Hyundai Motor Company, and we are committed to provide benchmark creating products & technologies to Indian customers. As we look forward to the next decade of progress for Hyundai Motor India, it is critical for us to augment our manufacturing capacity in India,” says Un Soo Kim, managing director and CEO, Hyundai Motor India.

“The acquisition of Talegaon plant reinforces our commitment to ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-Reliant India), by making India a hub for advanced smart mobility solutions, Make-In-India for the world. Our manufacturing operations are scheduled to begin in Talegaon, Maharashtra in year 2025,” Kim adds.

Talegaon plant has an existing annual production capacity of 130 000 units. Hyundai Motor India plans to expand the annual production capacity to achieve its strategic goal in the market. HMIL intends to make phased investments for the purpose of upgrading the existing infrastructure and manufacturing equipment at the Talegaon plant.

Hyundai Motor India sales rose 9% year-on-year to 6,02,111 units in 2023, achieving the highest ever domestic sales in a calendar year and surpassing the six lakh sales milestone. Of this, the petrol powertrain accounted for 82% of its overall sales while diesel accounted for 18% of its total sales.

Exports jumped 10% as the carmaker shipped 1,63,675 units in 2023 compared to 1,48,300 units in CY 2022. In the month of December 2023, HMIL achieved total sales of 56,450 units, comprising 42,750 units in domestic sales and 13,700 units in exports.

Hyundai Motor India increased the prices of its models from January 1, 2024. The company announced the price increase owing to rising input costs, adverse exchange rate and increase in commodity prices, amongst other reasons. “At Hyundai Motor India, we always try to absorb the cost escalations to the extent possible and ensure continuous customer delight. However, it has now become imperative to pass on some portion of the rising input cost to the market through a minor price increase,” the carmaker said earlier this month.

Earlier this week, Hyundai launched a new version of its popular SUV Creta at a starting price of ₹10.99 lakh. The automaker has sold over 9.8 lakh units of the Creta since its launch in 2016.