Chennai based Hyundai Motor India has recently shipped its first consignment of 820 cars to the UK.
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It has modified and re-badged the right-hand-drive export version of the popular Santro Xing sold in India as the Hyundai Amica for the UK.
This consignment will be the first shipment of RHD cars from Hyundai Motors India to the European Union and, in the UK, will revive a city car model line launched around 2000, when the franchise was run by a private company, and dropped after only a couple of years.
Now it appears the factory-owned distributor, which took charge of the brand last July, is planning to re-launch the Amica, slotting it in below its current entry-level model, the Korean-built Getz.
Under factory ownership, HMUK said in July, it is confident of doubling its yearly sales by 2008 to around 80,000 cars, securing more than 3% UK market share.
Hyundai Motor UK officials did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
So far, Hyundai Motor India has shipped the left-hand drive Santro, known as the Atos Prima, to European countries, including Italy, Germany, Greece, Spain and the Netherlands. This year was also a landmark for Hyundai Motors India as exports passed the 200,000th-units mark.
Hyundai Motor India president, BVR Subbu said: “Though this is HMI’s first consignment to the UK, our cars are already popular in other parts of the EU. In fact, Europe accounts for almost half of HMI’s total exports. The UK order is yet another endorsement of the consistently high quality standards and global technology of our cars.”
Hyundai exports account for nearly 60% of automobile exports from India, growing by more than double the previous year’s total.
In recent years, Accent exports have declined as the model aged but the Santro Xing/Atos Prime has remained in demand due to several face lifts.
Suzuki’s UK distributor imports the Alto – a key Santro/Atos competitor – from India.
Deepesh Rathore/Tilak Swarup
Additional reporting by Graeme Roberts
