Hyundai Motor India betting big on EVs in the next seven years

Carmaker commits Rs 1,474 crore for R&D as markets predicted to be bouyant, writes Ketan Thakkar.

- Ketan Thakkar

South Korean car maker, Hyundai Motor India is ramping up capacity at its Sriperumbudur plant on the outskirts of Chennai and has invested Rs 1,474 crore in FY22 to increase output to 8.5 lakh units and prepare itself for future growth.

In its annual filing to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the Korean Chaebol said the company is accelerating its EV plans as it expects the market for electric vehicles to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 90 percent to $150 billion by the end of the decade.

Hyundai Motor India said, during FY22, the company started the process of increasing the production capacity to 8.50 lakh units per annum to meet the market demand by further automating certain processes, removing a few bottlenecks in the production process and supply chain and introduction of new models.

The on-ground investment from Hyundai Motor comes at a time, when its Indian rival Tata Motors is inching closer to its number two position in the highly competitive Indian passenger vehicle market.

With a big focus on catering to the domestic market over the last few years amid chip shortage, according to people in the know, the company is now readying itself for an aggressive year both on domestic and exports front.