Hyundai aspires to become the No 1 car manufacturer in India

At the 10th anniversary celebration, Hyundai Motor India Ltd's (HMIL) MD & CEO, HS Lheem, said: "We hope to become the no 1 car major. While our current market share in the domestic market stands at 22 per cent, we hope to become the largest car manufacturer in the time to come." Lheem declined to comment on a time-frame towards achieving this goal.

Maruti Suzuki is the market leader by the number of cars it sells in the country annually, and holds a market share of a little less than 40 per cent. HMIL spelt its plans for the future which includes launching at least two new models every year, focussing more on the development, production, and exports of small cars like the "I 10" and soon to be launched "1 20". Parent Hyundai Motors based in Korea has designated India as the small car hub.

IN addition to increasing its production capacity in Chennai, Hyundai plans to raise its current research and development staff strength pegged at 200 to about 800 in 2009.