Hyundai Motor Signs Deal for Take Over of General Motors Plant in India

Hyundai Motor has acquired the production plant of General Motors in India. The automakers recently signed a deal for the purchase, and the Korean firm expects to start production in the facility by 2025.

With the acquisition, Hyundai Motor is preparing to take over General Motors’ vehicle manufacturing factory located in Talegaon, India. The former made the decision to buy the property as it is looking to make India its new production base, which was previously in China.

On Wednesday, Aug. 16, the carmaker said that its unit in India signed an asset purchase agreement with General Motors India to buy its manufacturing facility. The agreement includes the facility, some equipment, and machines.

As per Korea Joongang Daily, this is the second time that Hyundai Motor bought a production plant owned by General Motors overseas. In 2020, it bought the American automaker’s vehicle factory in St. Petersburg, Russia.

At any rate, the agreed purchase price was not disclosed, and the companies expect the deal to close by the end of this year. The GM’s Indian facility has a production capacity of 130,000 per year, and with this volume, Hyundai Motor’s total production in the country is likely to reach one million.

The property was sold after General Motors discontinued its Indian business in 2017. The Talegaon plant proceeded to stop operations in October 2020 after producing vehicles for over 20 years.

"This year is a significant milestone for Hyundai Motor India, as we celebrate 27 years of activity in the market,” Kim Un Soo, Hyundai Motor’s managing director and chief executive officer of HMIL said in a press release. “Demonstrating our dedication to India, earlier this year, HMIL entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to invest INR 20,000 crore in Tamil Nadu for expanding capacity and establishing an electric vehicle ecosystem.”

Photo by: Hyundai Press Release