Hyundai Motor has achieved a landmark with the sale of its 50,000th Solaris in Russia. The company began manufacturing Solaris at its St. Petersburg plant in January and rolled out the first car for sale in May.
The Solaris, a restyled version of the Verna, is powered by 1.4- and 1.6-litre gasoline engines and competes with the Renault Logan. In the first six months of 2011, Hyundai sold 40,351 units of the Solaris in Russia, making it the country’s fourth best selling model behind three Ladas.
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The Russian plant is a full manufacturing facility (from steel stamping to assembly). Hyundai planned to sell 85,000 units of the Solaris annually in Russia, including the five-door hatchback model which which joined the line-up in June 2011. The plant has since had its capacity raised to 200,000upa via an extra shift. The Russian factory also build cars for Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.
Upon the resumption of production, the plant’s annual capacity will be increased to 200,000.
