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Suzuki, Hyundai to step up exports from India
By agencies
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Monday, 06 February 2006, 20:30 IST
MUMBAI: Suzuki Motor Corporation and Hyundai Motor Co plan to gear up exports of cars and key automotive components from its Indian manufacturing units.
According to a news report, Suzuki plans to begin exports of diesel engines to its main European car assembly plant in Hungary by next year. They will be manufactured at the firm's first overseas diesel engine plant, which is slated to start operating in India sometime in June this year. The engines are expected to be mounted in Suzuki's Swift subcompacts produced in India, Hungary, China and elsewhere.
Suzuki plans to turn out 100,000 engines a year in India, and to boost output to 300,000 units in the future. More than half of the engines will be exported. Hyundai hopes to increase exports of subcompact models from India to 100,000 units next year, up 20 percent from 2004 and about 30 percent of its overall car output there.
The firm has concentrated production of subcompacts at its Indian plant since 2002, exporting them to some 60 countries, mainly in Europe, last year. Meanwhile, Tata Motors Ltd, India's largest domestic auto maker, has begun exporting cars to South Africa.
India's car market is growing rapidly, with annual sales projected to top 2 million units in 2010, the report said, citing market studies. Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata are the three dominant companies in India's car market, where most of the demand is for subcompact models.