Kumho HT Targets Global 3rd Largest Indian Car Market... "Local Factory Construction Completed"

As Hyundai Motor India Corporation is pursuing an initial public offering (IPO) in the Indian market, Kumho HT has completed preparations to actively target the Indian market, which has emerged as the world's third-largest automobile market after the United States and China. Kumho HT announced on the 15th that it has successfully completed all permits and certification procedures for its Chennai SMT plant in India and received the completion permit.

The newly completed Chennai plant is one of Kumho HT's large-scale global production bases, having completed the establishment of two production lines so far. The Chennai plant is planned to have a total of 10 production lines in the future. Kumho HT will specialize in producing LED modules installed in various vehicle types, including existing internal combustion engine vehicles as well as electric vehicles, at the Chennai plant.

To proactively respond to the expansion of production and sales by domestic global automakers in India, Kumho HT established its Indian subsidiary in November last year and has been preparing accordingly. The Chennai area is a representative automobile manufacturing cluster in India, where many automakers and key partners are concentrated.

With the completion of the Chennai plant, Kumho HT has secured a total of five global production bases. Kumho HT already operates LED module and bulb production facilities in Gwangju and Jangseong-gun in Korea, Tianjin in China, and Ha Nam Province in Vietnam.

Kumho HT plans to maximize performance growth through continuous product supply by conducting close sales activities with major local companies. Based on the annual production capacity (CAPA) of the Chennai plant, Kumho HT expects sales of approximately 40 million USD (about 50 billion KRW).

A Kumho HT official stated, “One of our major customers, a domestic global automaker, has a large-scale local production facility in the Chennai area,” adding, “Since the customer is recently focusing on strengthening its presence in the Indian market, related benefits are expected.”

Meanwhile, according to the Korea International Trade Association, the size of the Indian automobile market surpassed Japan last year to become the third largest globally. Approximately 3.79 million vehicles were sold in the Indian market last year, representing about a 23% growth compared to the same period the previous year.