Hyundai plans to launch the upmarket Genesis brand in India in 2025 to target a growing affluent population, according to local reports.

Vehicle sales in India have increased rapidly in recent years thanks to strong economy growth with deliveries rising 7% to 5m units in 2023, passing Japan as the third largest market after China and the US.

Hyundai Motor India sold 602,000 vehicles in 2023 with the Creta small SUV and i10 and i20 small cars its best sellers. The company also exported 164,000 vehicles with output last year of 766,000 held back only by a lack of production capacity.

At the end of 2023, the company completed acquisition of General Motors’ old plant in Talegaon, Maharashtra, adding a further 150,000 units of capacity which it will use also for battery electric vehicle (BEV) production.

A Hyundai officialsaid: “We believe it is important to launch the Genesis brand in India to cement our position there. We haven’t made a final decision on the launch date, but we expect it to happen soon."

Hyundai also plans to launch the Casper crossover city car in Japan next year to establish an early presence in the country’s fledgling BEV market.