Unsoo Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India, said “As part of our long-term vision, we have finalised plans to develop and establish Tamil Nadu as a base for Hyundai’s EV Manufacturing in India. This will help us to strengthen our portfolio and provide best-in-class features and technologies in our vehicles which will exceed our customer aspirations.”
This is the third big investment announcement by a foreign brand in Tamil Nadu in the past few days. Earlier, Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric said it plans to invest $231.2 million to set up a manufacturing facility and global telecom and networking equipment maker Cisco has announced its plans to set up a manufacturing plant in TN to make two of its high-volume products.
Korean auto giant Hyundai will also set up a state-of-the-art battery pack assembly unit with an annual capacity to assemble 1.78 lakh units of batteries. The carmaker also announced its plan to further increase the total production volumes to 8,50,000 units / year and introduce new Electric & ICE vehicles from its factory in Sriperumbudur. It is also planning to install 100 electric vehicle charging stations at key locations on major highways over the next five years.
Speaking to reporters, Puneet Anand, associate vice-president, corporate affairs, Hyundai India, said the battery pack assembly unit will deal with lithium batteries. But he refused to reveal from where the company plans to source lithium. Due to shortage of critical minerals and increase in demand, prices of all major metals used in battery production have gone up.
Between December 2021 and December 2022, prices of lithium, nickel and cobalt have increased by 499%, 117% and 56%, respectively. Anand, however, said Hyundai is aiming to produce affordable electric vehicle cars. Adoption of e-vehicles is slow due to their high cost and lack of charging infrastructure, he said.