New Delhi, March 27, 2008: Hyundai Motor India, India’s largest passenger car exporter and second largest car manufacturer, today achieved another significant milestone with its cumulative exports crossing the half-million mark (500,000 units) with the loading of its latest product the i10 this morning at the Chennai port.

Winner of the prestigious ‘Top Exporter of the Year 2005-06’ award from the Engineering Export Promotional Council (EEPC) in the category of large enterprises of India and the consecutive winner of the CNBC ‘Exporter of the Year’ for the last two years, HMI has achieved this distinction in record time of less than 9 years. What began as a twenty car shipment to Nepal in 1999 has today catapulted the company to the position of the largest passenger car exporter with 90 countries on the overseas buyer’s list and exports projected to grow to well over 2 lakh units per annum from this year. Today HMIL made cars can be seen on the roads of Europe, Latin America, Africa, Middle East and in the neighbouring countries of the Indian sub continent.

HMIL reached the first milestone of exporting 100,000 cars in four years and ten months in October 2004. In October 2005 it exported its 200,000th car followed by its 300,000th car and 400,000th car in October 2006 and August 2007 respectively. By exporting the 500,000th car, HMIL has become the fastest Indian passenger car manufacturer to achieve this stupendous milestone.

Commenting on the company`s export performance, H S Lheem, Managing Director, HMIL said: "No matter where you drive in the world be it the Autobahn of Germany or the Motorway of UK you are bound to come across cars made by Hyundai Motor India and this is indeed a sight which should make everyone connected with Indian operations and India very proud. And I am really happy that we are on the right track and growing as far as exports of Hyundai cars are concerned. And we have achieved this thanks mainly to the quality and reliability of our cars. Today Hyundai cars symbolise global trends and aspirations of our buyers and stand among the very best."

To cater to the enormous demand for Hyundai products in the domestic and overseas markets, HMIL has doubled the production capacity from 300,000 units to 600,000 units per annum with the commissioning of the new plant in Chennai in February this year.

The target production for 2008 is 5.3 lakh units and the export target for this year itself is 2.12 lakh units.

Currently, Hyundai Motor India is exporting four of its most popular models namely - the i10, Santro, Getz and Accent models to around 90 countries and this list is expected to grow further in the coming years.

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 34 variants of passenger cars across segments. The Santro in the B segment, Getz Prime, i10 in the B+ segment, the Accent and Verna in the C segment, the Elantra in the D 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 boast 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 is setting up its second plant, which will produce 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 73 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 15,00,000th car.

The Hyundai Verna has 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 C&B 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.

Last Year Sonata Embera won the ‘Executive Car of The Year 2006’ award from Business Standard Motoring Magazine and NDTV Profit – Car & Bike declared the Tucson as the ‘SUV of The Year 2006’. HMIL has also been awarded the benchmark ISO 14001 certification for its sustainable environment management practices