That was formed on 6 May 1996 by the Hyundai Motor Company of South Korea. When Hyundai Motor Company entered the Indian Automobile Market in 1996 the Hyundai brand was almost unknown throughout India. During the entry of Hyundai in 1996, there were only five major automobile manufacturers in India, i.e. Maruti, Hindustan, Premier, Tata and Mahindra. Daewoo had entered the Indian automobile market with Cielo just three years back while Ford, Opel and Honda had entered less than a year back.
Hyundai branded vehicles are manufactured by Hyundai Motor Company, which along with Kia comprises the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group. Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, Hyundai operates the world's largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility[2] in Ulsan, which is capable of producing 1.6 million units annually. The company employs about 75,000 people around the world. Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 6,000 dealerships and showrooms worldwide. In 2012, Hyundai sold over 4.4 million vehicles worldwide. Popular models include the Sonata midsize sedan and Elantra compact
The Hyundai Santro was launched on 23 September 1998 and was a runaway success. Within a few months of its inception HMIL became the second largest automobile manufacturer and the largest automobile exporter in India. Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), South Korea and is the largest passenger car exporter and the second largest car manufacturer in India. HMIL presently markets 10 models - Eon, i10, Grand i10, Xcent, Elite i20, Active i20, Verna Fludic 4S, Neo Elantra, Creta and Santa Fe.
HMIL’s manufacturing plant near Chennai claims to have the most advanced production, quality and testing capabilities in the country.[citation needed] To cater to rising demand, HMIL commissioned its second plant in February 2008, which produces an additional 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL’s total production capacity to 600,000 units per annum. Current Production Capacity with these 2 plants in Kancheepuram increased to 670,000 cars per year
