Hyundai India tops 25-lakh output mark

Hyundai Motor India said on Monday it has crossed the 25 lakh units-mark in production from Sriperumbedur (Tamil Nadu) facility.

The 25th lakh (2.5 millionth) unit was rolled out on Monday from the facility which was first set up in 1998, Hyundai Motor India Ltd said in a statement.

The company had rolled out the first car -- a hatchback Santro -- from the Sriperumbedur facility in September 1998.

It took over 11 years to reach the 25 lakh units-figure in production.

"It is a proud moment for Hyundai as it is not only the second manufacturer to have achieved this, but also the fastest," HMIL senior vice president (marketing and sales) Arvind Saxena said. He attributed the success to the company's overseas sales.

"Before HMIL started exporting Made-in-India cars, we hardly had any presence in the international market. But today they are present in over 100 countries and Indian made cars are acceptable in terms of quality and performance," Saxena said.

HMIL is also the largest car exporter from the country. In 2008, the company sold a total of 4,89,328 units, of which 2,43,931 units were in the overseas market.

The Sriperumbedur facility has an annual installed capacity of 600,000 units. It has two plants, of which the plant number two was commissioned in early 2008.

Of the 25 lakh (2.5 million) units produced so far in the facility, 16 lakh (1.6 million) units have been sold in the domestic market and rest exported, HMIL added.

After Santro, the Sriperumbedur facility started production of Accent in 1999. Currently the facility rolls out seven models, including the Santro, i10 and the i20, which are only manufactured in India and exported to over 100 countries.

HMIL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korean auto giant Hyundai Motor Company.