Hyundai Starts Building New Car Plant in India

The Associated Press reported that Korea's Hyundai began constructing a car plant in southern India on Tuesday. The plant is slated to begin producing Hyundai's Accent models in 1998, with a long term production goal of 120,000 units a year. Muthuvel Karunanidhi, Chief Executive of Tamil Nadu state, laid the foundation stone for the $389 million plant, which is located in Irungattukottai village near Madras, the state capital.

Ford and Mitsubishi also have deals with local industrialists to build car plants in Madras, which is home to thousands of automobile component factories. Ashok Leyland, which makes buses and trucks in Madras, also plans to expand its business there.

Analysts expect India's auto market to top 1.2 million vehicles by the end of this decade; they project 560,000 car and truck sales for this year.

Paul Dever -- The Auto Channel