The country’s largest passenger car exporter and second largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) attained sales record of 39,122 units in March 2012 against 31,822 units in the same period of the previous year. Compared to 55,552 units of aggregate sales in March 2011, the company attained 59,229 units sales, pushing the growth by 6.6% to 22.9%.
Regarding March sales, Director - Marketing and Sales, HMIL, Mr. Arvind Saxena said, “We could meet our expectations in March as there was considerable interest to beat the expected price hike in the Union Budget. The market continues to pose many challenges; things can improve if interest rates come down this quarter.”
In March 2012, the company exported 20,107 units as against 23,730 units in the same period in 2011. Mr. Saxena added, “Export markets are doing well but as the domestic market had greater buoyancy our export lines were diverted for the domestic market.”
Sales figures are tabulated below:
| HMIL sales | March 2011 | March 2012 | Growth (%) |
| Domestic | 31,822 | 39,122 | 22.9 |
| Exports | 23,730 | 20,107 | -15.26 |
| Cumulative | 55,552 | 59,229 | 6.6 |
Across segments, Hyundai currently sells eight passenger car models. For the A2 segment, which includes Eon, Santro, i10, i20, cumulative sales for March 2012 has been registered 51,336 units. The A3 segment, which comprises Accent and Verna recorded sales of 7,679 units. 92 units of Sonata have been sold by the company in A5 segment. In the SUV segment, Hyundai sold 122 units in March 2012.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd. has a sophisticated facility in Chennai, which has advanced manufacturing and quality testing capabilities. In the global export of HMC, HMIL contributes a major share. The subsidiary managed to reach 1.5 million export mark in March 2012. Across Africa, EU, Latin America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East, the company exports in more than 120 countries. For seven years consecutively, the number one rank in export has been acquired by HMIL. In February 2008, the company set up its second plant with an installation capacity of 330,000 units per annum.
The company has also established 790 service points and 343 dealerships to support its growth plan. In Hyderabad, a modern multi-million dollar R&D facility has been set up by the company as a part of its commitment to provide latest technology to its customers. In the field of automobile engineering, this R&D facility holds prime position.
