India, Sept. 4 -- Hyundai India has brought forward a third production shift at its Talegaon plant by a full 18 months, a sign of just how far demand has outrun the company's own planning. Speaking to this reporter, Hyundai India's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tarun Garg said the surge left the company with little choice but to accelerate a shift addition that wasn't originally due for another year and a half.

The company's current annual capacity stands at 894,000 units, and Garg said Hyundai expects to cross the 1 million mark by FY30, with planned improvements at both its Chennai and Talegaon facilities. It's a capacity build-out that puts Hyundai squarely in expansion mode as India car sales rocket at a pace to cross the five millio...