Hyundai, Kia to launch Made in India electric cars by next year

Chennai: Seoul-headquartered Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) on Thursday said it will roll out its first ‘Made in India’ electric car from its Sriperumbudur plant in 2025 and plans to produce five more models by 2030 to tap in on  the growing electric vehicle market in the country. 

 Kia India, another HMG company, will also begin production of EVs from next year, as the two brands compete with Tata Motors, which is the leader in the electric car market in the country. While Hyundai’s plant is located in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, Kia has a massive manufacturing unit in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. 

The group has also signed a MoU with Exide Energy Solutions Ltd for local production of batteries for dedicated Indian EV models, while HMG also said the combined annual production of Hyundai Motor India and Kia India will be enhanced to 1.5 million vehicle units a year by 2025. 

These are some of the key announcements made by HMG during the visit of its Executive Chair Euisun Chung to review mid-to long-term future mobility strategies of the group in India. The first overseas town hall meeting with the EC outside of South Korea was also held with Hyundai Motor India employees. 

The company said Hyundai Motor India will start operating its Pune plant, which was acquired from General Motors last year, in the second half of 2025 as it currently makes improvements to the facility to create a production hub capable of building more than 200,000 units annually, using smart manufacturing technology and systems. 

“With the addition of the Chennai plant’s production capacity of 824,000 units, Hyundai Motor will have an annual production capacity of over one million units when combined with the Pune plant. Kia India's yearly production capacity will also be expanded to 431,000 units within the first half of this year,” the company said in a statement. 

 Combined together, Hyundai Motor Group will have the ability to produce approximately 1.5 million units annually in India. Unveiling its plans for EV, the company said HMI will unveil its first locally produced EV in India next year and plans to further produce five EV models by 2030, besides expanding the number of EV charging stations to 485 by 2030.

“Kia India will also start production of its local EV model in 2025 and plans to further expand its EV models. The company will also focus on building EV charging infrastructure,” the company said

Executive Chair Chung emphasised the strategic importance of the Indian region saying India is among the fastest-growing economies globally, and as this growth continues the strategic importance of Hyundai Motor India will only increase. 

“By leveraging our strong reputation and competitive quality in India, we aim to expand exports to neighbouring countries, making India the global export hub to boost our regional market competitiveness,” he said. 

The company said it expects to see a substantial expansion in the EV market and in anticipation of this evolution.  “We also plan to proactively build charging stations at strategic locations – including dealerships – to facilitate the adoption of EVs,” he added. 

Interestingly, the announcement in India comes, even as Bloomberg reports that Hyundai has switched its plans to produce electric vehicles at the plant it is building in Georgia, USA, to making hybrid vehicles instead, in view of the slowdown in America’s demand for battery powered vehicles.