South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co announced on Wednesday its Indian subsidiary’s acquisition of General Motors‘ Talegaon plant situated in Maharashtra, India. Hyundai aims to bolster its manufacturing capabilities by integrating the newly acquired Talegaon plant with its existing Sriperumbudur facility outside Chennai.
This strategic move is projected to escalate Hyundai’s aggregate production capacity to one million units annually, a substantial enhancement from the company’s previous output. Notably, Hyundai successfully retailed 552,511 vehicles in India during the previous year.
Hyundai, positioned as India’s second-largest automobile manufacturer in terms of sales volume, refrained from disclosing the precise financial terms of the acquisition.
The transaction stands to facilitate General Motors’ departure from the Indian automotive market. Having ceased vehicle sales in the nation back in 2017 due to a protracted period of declining demand, the company’s complete withdrawal encountered complexities. These complexities encompassed legal disputes with employees and the absence of a suitable buyer for the Talegaon plant.
General Motors entered into negotiations with China’s Great Wall Motor for the divestiture of the Talegaon plant back in 2019.
However, these discussions faltered in the subsequent year due to the parties’ inability to secure regulatory clearances. This failure to obtain approvals was further compounded by heightened scrutiny of foreign investments from Beijing by the Indian government.
