Hyundai Motor Co announced on Wednesday that its Indian unit is set to acquire General Motors’ Talegaon plant located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. By doing so, the South Korean company is looking to increase its total production capacity in India to one million units per year.
Selling 552,511 vehicles in India last year, Hyundai emerged as the country’s second-largest carmaker in terms of sales. For General Motors, the sale of the Talegaon factory enables it to exit from the Indian market in its entirety. The U.S. automaker last sold vehicles in India in 2017, amid dwindling sales. Its exit from India proved challenging, however, due to legal issues with workers as well as a struggle to sell the Maharashtra-based plant.
In 2019, General Motors came close to selling the factory when it entered talks with Great Wall Motors. Negotiations broke down last year after both parties were unable to obtain regulatory approvals due to the Indian government’s increased scrutiny of investments of Chinese origin.