Japan's Suzuki, S. Korea's Hyundai to step up auto exports from India - report
Jan 6, 2006
TOKYO (AFX) - Suzuki Motor Corp
and South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co plan to gear up exports of cars and key
automotive components from plants in India, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported at
the weekend, without citing any sources.
The newspaper, in its on-line edition, said Suzuki will next year begin
exporting diesel engines to its main European car assembly plant in Hungary.
They will be manufactured at the firm's first overseas diesel engine plant,
which is slated to start operating in India sometime in June.
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 pct from 2004 and about 30 pct 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 mln
units in 2010, the Nikkei 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. The three firms control a combined 80 pct of the
market, with Suzuki holding the largest share.
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