'Hyundai should not hesitate to set up 3rd plant in India'

New Delhi: Government today exhorted the country's second largest car maker, Hyundai Motor India, to set up its third manufacturing plant here without hesitation as steps are being taken by the Centre to improve business environment and push manufacturing.

Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said it is, however, up to the company to decide on the plant's location.

"I do not think there are enough reasons for you (Hyundai) to think more about it. It's time that you set it up and this is a good time for Hyundai to announce this," she said, adding that the government is actively taking steps to improve the business environment of the country.

She was speaking at a function on 'Korea-India Industry and Infrastructure Forum'.

The South Korean auto giant presently has two plants located at Sriperumbudur near Chennai in Tamil Nadu.

South Korean Minister for Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) Joo Hyunghwan, who is in New Delhi for the review of India- Korea free trade agreement, was also present at the event.

When asked about the details of the issue, Sitharaman said, "The decision is apparently with the Hyundai leadership and I would only suggest that since they have two successful plants here, setting up of a third should not be an issue".

"Moreover with this government looking forward to pushing the Make In India initiative," she added.

In February this year, HMIL Managing Director and CEO Young Key Koo had stated that the company was not looking to set up a new manufacturing plant at present as it had enough capacity for the next three years which could be stretched to 7.2 lakh units annually from 6.8 lakh units at present.

However, last August, HMIL Senior Vice-President Marketing and Sales Rakesh Srivastava had stated that the company wanted to get clarity on important issues like GST and land acquisition before going ahead with a third plant.

Besides the vehicles manufacturing plant, Hyundai also has a second unit in Chennai that produces engines.

Hyundai currently sells 10 car models across segments- Eon, i10, Grand i10, Elite i20, Active i20, Xcent, Verna, Creta, Elantra and Santa Fe in India.

It exports vehicles to around 92 countries across Africa, Middle East, Latin America, Australia and the Asia Pacific from its Chennai plant.