Hyundai may set up i20 production facility in Europe
Hyundai, which currently manufactures the i20 hatchback only in India, may soon start manufacturing this car in Europe as well. This would allow Hyundai to save on shipping and logistics costs and also deal with various problems like the ongoing volatility of the Indian Rupee, erratic power availability, lack of adequate export incentives and occasionally, labour problems at Hyundai's plant in Chennai.
Hyundai exported around 17,000 units of the i20 from India to Europe during January-March 2009. However, the company may not be able to achieve its exports target of 120,000 units for this car, which it had previously set for 2009.
The i20 is also proving to be quite popular in India. The car, which initially had a waiting period of two months, is priced at Rs 4.80 lakh - a bit on the higher side for a hatchback, in a market where the more expensive hatchbacks don't usually do well. Still, Hyundai expects to sell more than 40,000 units of the i20 in India by the end of 2009.
[Via: indiaautomotive]