Hyundai Motor takes subcompact car off Indian market

South Korea's top automaker Hyundai Motor Co. has withdrawn a subcompact car from the Indian market as the company seeks to sell other new models in Asia's second-largest economy, industry sources said Monday.

The Santro city car, also known as the Hyundai Atoz in South Korea, was pulled off the Indian market in January after Hyundai Motor decided to cease its production late last year, according to the sources.

The subcompact car, which was the very first model for Hyundai Motor to showcase in India, helped the carmaker to establish its presence in the Indian market.

Since production began at Hyundai Motor's plant in India in 1998, the automaker has sold a cumulative 1.32 million units of the compact car in the local market, accounting for 37 percent of its shipments there over the past 17 years.

In addition, another 535,950 units of the Santro were exported to markets in the Middle East as well as in Africa over the cited period.

"The Santro was Hyundai Motor's key model that helped us succeed in the Indian market," said a company official. "We will push to sell other localized models and gun for a second success there."

The carmaker, the flagship of the world's No. 5 auto giant Hyundai Motor Group, has been introducing other mini-sized cars in India -- the Eon, Grand i10 and the new generation i20.

Last year, Hyundai Motor sold 411,471 units in India last year, setting a new sales record in the Indian market. (Yonhap)