Hyundai bets on expansion; hopes to return to No 2 position in PV sales by 2028-29

Pune: Hyundai Motor India (HMI) is targeting a return to the No. 2 position in the domestic passenger vehicle market by 2028-29, with a phased expansion of its newly inaugurated Talegaon plant in Pune to 320,000 vehicles a year expected to provide the production headroom needed to regain market share, Hyundai Motor president and CEO Jose Munoz told ET on Wednesday on the sidelines of an event to mark the opening of a new plant by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and other top officials from its global headquarters.

"It's going to be a matter of production," said Munoz. "What our colleague Tarun Garg (managing director and CEO of Hyundai Motor India) wants is more cars. This factory is going to help us. Once the factory increases production up to 320,000 units per annum, we're going to get there. At the latest, it may be 2028-29." "We are not obsessed with that," he said when asked about regaining the No. 2 position. "The most important thing is good product, good quality and then everything else is going to come."

Also read: Toyota to add annual capacity of 100,000 units at Karnataka plant from early 2027

India is the world's second largest market by volume for Hyundai, after the US, said Munoz. "The Indian consumer is the most demanding in the world," he said. "If we do well here, we can do well everywhere."

Hyundai lost its longstanding No 2 position in the Indian PV market in calendar 2025, ending a 25-year reign that began around 2000. It slipped to fourth position as Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors surged ahead. Its retail market share shrunk to 12.29% in FY26 from 13.48% in FY25. It stood at 11.75% at the end of September 2026, from 11.81% a year ago.

Also read: Hyundai Motor India to invest Rs 11,000 crore at Pune plant

The Talegaon facility has an installed annual capacity of 170,000 cars, which will be expanded in phases to 320,000 by 2030. Combined with its Chennai operations, Hyundai India's manufacturing capacity will reach nearly 1.14 million units annually by then.

Pune is a highly automated plant and provides a very good base for hybrid vehicles going forward, said Garg. "We are looking at Pune to really provide a great fillip to our plans in India," he said.

The Creta and Exter manufacturer has invested ₹7,000 crore in Maharashtra and committed another ₹4,000 crore by 2030. Its 55 supplier partners have invested nearly ₹4,600 crore in the state, generating more than 18,000 jobs, including through tier-II vendors. The company is targeting to boost localisation from 83% to 92%. Hyundai is also banking on the planned launch of 26 new models to strengthen its product portfolio and regain market share. Hyundai Motor Group on Tuesday announced plans to invest $15.5 billion in India over the next seven years across manufacturing, R&D, localisation, technology and startups.