Hyundai Motor India makes NSE debut, raises $3.3 bn

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun participates in the opening bell-ringing ceremony at the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) in Mumbai on the morning of the 22nd. (Hyundai Motor)

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. held its listing ceremony at India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE) in Mumbai on Tuesday.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung and NSE Chief Executive Officer Ashishkumar Chauhan rang the bell to mark the company’s stock market debut. Over 250 attendees were present, including Hyundai Motor Co. President Chang Jae-hoon and Hyundai Motor India Chief Operating Officer Tarun Garg. Chung presented a miniature model of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 to NSE CEO Chauhan during the ceremony.

“Hyundai Motor India will remain committed to localization, guided by cooperation and mutual growth. Our efforts to pioneer future technologies will continue in India,” Chung said in his speech during the event.

Chung told reporters after the ceremony that Hyundai Motor India would not only meet demand in India but also work to develop overseas markets, targeting neighboring regions and Europe. Commenting on the 4.5 trillion won ($3.26 billion) raised from the initial public offering, he said it would primarily fund investments in electric vehicles (EVs), hydrogen fuel cells, and software technology development while also mentioning investments to develop high-tech vehicles favored by younger customers at the new plant near Pune.

Now that Hyundai has gone public, the focus is on how the company will invest the influx of capital locally. Hyundai has invested $6.5 billion in India since setting up its sales subsidiary in 1996, but market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. has about 40 percent of the market share while Hyundai and Kia together hold about 20 percent, leaving a significant gap.

India’s rapid move toward electrification that is targeting a 40 percent share in the EV market by 2030, has spurred Chinese automakers to accelerate their entry into the market. BYD Co. has proposed a $1 billion investment to build EV and battery production facilities in India.

Hyundai is expected to make strategic investments in three key areas in the Indian market. The company plans to ramp up the Pune plant it acquired from General Motors India in 2023 to hit an annual production capacity of 1 million units. The Maharashtra plant is being remodeled and is expected to be operational by mid-2025. Hyundai’s first plant in Chennai began operations in 1998, followed by a second plant in 2007, and the company has also increased its sport utility vehicle (SUV) production capacity to up to 824,000 units per year.

Hyundai is also expected to accelerate the development of local strategic models. While it conducts technology development in India, models such as the Creta and Alcazar are developed at its R&D center in South Korea. With India‘s 1.4 billion people and diverse vehicle needs, there is a demand for more local research investment. Hyundai is building a test center in Telangana for vehicle manufacturing and testing, and the listing is expected to accelerate localization efforts.

The company will additionally invest heavily in India’s electrification and will launch the Creta EV, its first strategic EV model, in January 2025, while Kia is developing its own EV. Hyundai‘s performance in India’s EV market has been limited and according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations, Hyundai ranked fourth in EV sales in the first quarter of 2024, behind the Tata Group (68 percent), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (14 percent) and BYD (1.9 percent), with a share of just 1.8 percent. Kia‘s EV sales were even lower at 0.4 percent.

Chung was optimistic about the slowdown in EV demand, expecting a significant recovery in six to seven years.

With a population of 1.4 billion, India is the fastest-growing emerging automotive market after China. The Indian auto market hit the 5 million vehicles mark in 2023 to rank third in the world after China and the United States. The passenger car market, currently at 4.1 million units, is expected to top 5 million by 2030 and the Indian government has also set a target for EVs to account for 30 percent of total vehicle sales by the same year.