Chairman Chung Eui-sun Meets Indian Prime Minister: "We Will Be a Reliable Partner"

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Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 21st (local time) to discuss local business directions, the company said. India is considered Hyundai Motor Group's largest overseas production base and a market with high growth potential. The group is strengthening its localization strategy by expanding production facilities in India, conducting an initial public offering (IPO), and launching specialized models.

Chairman Chung visited India to inspect local business sites ahead of the Hyundai Motor India Limited's stock listing ceremony on the Indian stock exchange. The meeting took place at the Prime Minister's residence in Delhi. Chairman Chung expressed gratitude for the Indian government's support and shared information about local business and various activities. He said, "Since Hyundai Motor first entered India in 1996, we have positively impacted the Indian economy through the development of the automotive industry, job creation, and increased exports. Through continuous investment and growth, we will become a trusted partner in India's 'Make in India' policy and the 'Developed India 2047' vision."

Chairman Chung Euisun of Hyundai Motor Group (left) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the 21st (local time) at the Prime Minister's residence in Delhi, India, to discuss local business directions and took a commemorative photo afterward.
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Group]

Prime Minister Modi has actively pursued attracting foreign companies since taking office in May 2015. After the Indian general election held this year, he was reappointed and is now leading his third cabinet. Chairman Chung and Prime Minister Modi have met several times before. Starting with Modi's visit to Korea in 2015, they exchanged views on the overall automotive industry at the Korea-India Business Summits in 2016 and 2018, and at a Blue House luncheon in 2019.

Prime Minister Modi was formally invited to the Hyundai Motor's new Pune plant, which is under construction and scheduled to begin operations next year. Hyundai Motor operates its 1st and 2nd plants in Chennai, while its affiliate Kia runs a plant in Anantapur. Additionally, the Pune plant, acquired from General Motors (GM) last year, is being developed as Hyundai Motor's 3rd plant. It is expected to be completed in the second half of next year. Production will start at 170,000 units annually in the first phase and is planned to increase to 250,000 units by 2028.

Hyundai Motor India Chennai Plant Production Line
[Photo by Hyundai Motor Group]

The operating Hyundai Motor Chennai 1st and 2nd plants increased production capacity from 770,000 units to 824,000 units annually last year through facility investments. Kia's plant, equipped with a mixed production line in the first half of this year, can produce 431,000 units annually. With the addition of the Pune plant, the group will be able to produce 1.5 million units annually at the group level. India is the world's third-largest automotive market after China and the United States, and the industry expects passenger car sales to exceed 5 million units by 2030. The company explained, "Our strategy is to secure sufficient production capacity to actively respond to changes in local demand."

The company also expressed its intention to participate in the Indian government's policy to expand electric vehicle adoption. It plans to locally produce key components such as battery cells and power electronics and promote localization of the supply chain. The strategic electric vehicle for India, to be launched early next year, will use products from a new battery pack factory within the Chennai plant. In the long term, battery cells will also be sourced locally.

Chairman Chung said, "We will continue to cooperate with the government to contribute to building an electric vehicle ecosystem in India by continuously launching electric vehicle models, establishing charging infrastructure, and localizing parts."

Hyundai Motor India Chennai Plant Overview [Photo by Hyundai Motor Group]

In addition, he introduced group-level new businesses such as robotics, urban air mobility (UAM), hydrogen, and small modular reactors (SMR). He said, "We will establish a complete local development system at the India Technology Research Institute to serve as a global small car development hub. We also plan to expand our pool of excellent research and development personnel, so we ask for your continued interest and support."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.