New Delhi, May 30, 2008: The India International Centre in the national capital witnessed 100 student volunteers taking an oath to help maintain traffic safety and order on Delhi’s roads . The occasion was the induction of students into the Student Traffic Volunteers Scholarship Scheme, (STVS) which is sponsored by Hyundai Motor India Ltd. The Student Traffic Volunteers Scholarship Scheme (STVS Scheme), which was conceptualised by Institute of Road Traffic Education (IRTE) has evolved as a unique public-private partnership initiative between the Delhi Traffic Police and Hyundai Motor India. The concept took shape in 2006 with the induction of the first 100 volunteers into the scheme. The total strength of the Traffic Squad has gone up to 200 volunteers for Delhi while in Chennai the strength is 100 students

Hyundai Traffic Squad completed two years of glorious service to the National Capital in making the roads safer and better managed. This is the occasion of inaguration of the third year scheme, where the endeavour to serve the nation’s safety continues. Together with the Delhi Traffic Police and the IRTE, Hyundai Motor India Ltd has been playing a proactive role in inculcating road safety.

Through the STVS, the student representatives would assist the traffic police during the peak hours in traffic management and impart road user education. Their activities would ensure smooth flow of traffic at important intersections, helping pedestrains and senior citizens.

The induction programme was graced by the Lt. Governor of Delhi Mr. Tejendra Khanna , Mr. Y. S. Dadwal, IPS, Commissioner of Police, Mr. S.N. Shrivastava, IPS, Jt. Commissioner Police (Traffic), New Delhi, Mr. H. S. Lheem, Managing Director, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, Mr. A. K. Jha, President Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Mr. Rohit Baluja, President IRTE as well as Senior officers of the Delhi Police.

Speaking on the occasion, HS Lheem, MD, Hyundai Motor India Ltd said: “This is an initiative aimed at being a part of the community and to give back something to the society we live in. At Hyundai we are committed to the cause of road safety and this is our main motivation for launching and ustaining a scheme which will help Delhi become a safer and a better managed city in terms of traffic management. The Hyundai Traffic Squad in association with Delhi Police and IRTE will contribute significantly in easing out the traffic bottlenecks and this is also an opportunity for the young people to get involved in the management of their city. I believe it is a programme which will benefit everybody concerned – the participants, Delhi Police and the road users of Delhi”.

Hyundai Motor India supports this initiative financially by giving out stipends to all the student volunteers who are selected after a rigorous screening process by a panel of experts. This year, a total of 400 candidates applied out of which 100 worthy candidates have been selected. Out of these 100 people, there are 10 girls who will also take equal part in helping the Delhi Traffic Police. After they are selected they are given an extensive training in traffic management, public dealing and traffic drill by IRTE & DTP which prepares them for this job.

IRTE President Mr. Rohit Baluja commented “We at IRTE attempt to analyse and study road behaviour and try and come out with solutions which will help in better traffic management and this association with Hyundai and the Delhi Police will further help us implement these solutions and contribute to the better management of our roads”

After launching this programme in New Delhi in 2006 it was implemented in Chennai later and now HMIL plans to take it to other metros in the coming months with Kolkata being the next. Hyundai Motor India is the second largest manufacturer and the largest exporter of passenger cars from India.

About HMIL
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea and is the second largest and the fastest growing car manufacturer in India. HMIL presently markets 30 variants of passenger cars across segments. The Santro in the B segment, the Getz Prime and the i10 in the B+ segment, the Accent and the Verna in the C segment, the Sonata Embera in the E segment and the Tucson in the SUV segment.

Hyundai Motor India, continuing its tradition of being the fastest growing passenger car manufacturer, registering total sales of 327,160 vehicles in the calendar year (CY) 2007, an increase of 9.2 percent over CY 2006. In the domestic market it clocked a growth of 7.6 percent as compared to 2006 with 200,412 units, while overseas sales grew by 11.8 percent, with exports of 126,748 units.

HMIL’s fully integrated state-of-the-art manufacturing plant near Chennai boasts of the most advanced production, quality and testing capabilities in the country. In continuation of its commitment to provide the Indian customer with global technology, HMIL has set up its second plant, which produces an additional 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL’s total production capacity to 600,000 units per annum.

HMIL is investing to expand capacity in line with its positioning as HMC’s global export hub for compact cars. Apart from expansion of production capacity, HMIL plans to expand its dealer network, which will be increased from 230 to 300 this year.

The year 2007 has been a significant year for Hyundai Motor India. It achieved a significant milestone by rolling out the fastest 400,000th export car. Hyundai exports to over 90 countries globally; even as it plans to continue its thrust in existing export markets, it is gearing up to step up its foray into new markets. The year just ended also saw Hyundai Motor India attaining other milestones with the launch of the i10 and yet another path-breaking record in its young journey by rolling out the fastest 1,500,000th car.

Hyundai’s new model i10 which made its global debut here in India in October, 2007 made a clean sweep of all the ‘Car of the Year 2008’ awards from the leading automotive magazines and TV channels like BS Motoring, CNBC-TV18 AutoCar, NDTV Profit Car & Bike India and Overdrive magazine. The i10 is also the choice of the discerning automotive media of the country as they conferred the prestigious ‘Indian Car of the Year’ (ICOTY) award to the i10 as well. The i10 bagged these awards on the basis of excellence in build quality, handling, driver comfort, safety and ride quality.

The Santro and the Accent also received the ‘TNS Voice of the Customer - 2008’ award for the Premium Compact Car (Santro) and the Entry Mid size Car (Accent). In March 2008 it achieved yet another milestone by rolling out the fastest 500,000th export car.

Last year, the Hyundai Verna bagged some of the most prestigious awards starting with the title of "Car of the Year 2007" by India`s leading automotive publication – Overdrive, the “Best Mid-size Car of the Year” award by the NDTV Profit Car & Bike India Awards 2007, the “Best Value for Money Car” by the CNBC Autocar Auto awards and ‘Performance Car of the Year 2007’ from Business Standard Motoring.

Hyundai cars have been a favorite at all awards ceremonies and have always been winning awards. Our models like Sonata Embera won the ‘Executive Car of The Year 2006’ award from Business Standard Motoring Magazine and NDTV Profit Car & Bike India declared the Tucson as the ‘SUV of The Year 2006’. Not only this, HMIL has also been awarded the benchmark ISO 14001 certification for its sustainable environment management practices.