Hyundai Motor Co. Chairman Chung Mong-koo (left) and South Korea’s Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, pose with Genesis’ new model EQ900 during a press unveiling in Seoul, South Korea, 9 December. Hyundai Motor Co. on Wednesday began sales of a flagship luxury sedan under its new premium brand Genesis – REUTERS

Reuters: South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co plans to raise the prices of its car models in India by up to 30,000 rupees ($ 448.60) starting in January, its local unit said, citing challenging market conditions.

“We are constrained to consider the price increase on account of factors like increase in cost of components, weak rupee etc,” Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Hyundai Motor India Ltd., said in a statement.

Hyundai’s plans come a week after German carmaker BMW said it would raise the prices of its BMW- and Mini-branded cars sold in India by up to 3% starting next year.

Hyundai is India’s second-largest carmaker by sales and the country’s largest exporter.

India’s car market, the world’s sixth largest, is expected to grow to the number three position by 2020 as incomes rise.

Hyundai Motor chairman says auto market 2016 outlook ‘not bright’

Reuters: SEOUL: The outlook for the global auto market is “not bright” next year, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo said on Tuesday, indicating 2016 will be another challenging year for the world’s fifth-largest automaker.

Speaking to the heads of the automaker’s overseas units, Chung said growth this year was constrained by a weak global economy, the economic slowdown in the world’s second-largest auto market China and a decline in emerging market demand.

“Considering many leading indicators, the outlook for next year’s auto market is also not bright,” he said. His remarks were first reported by Yonhap news agency and later confirmed by a company spokeswoman.

Hyundai Motor Co , which combined with sister firm Kia Motors Corp is the world’s fifth-largest car-maker, posted its seventh-straight decline in quarterly profit in October.

Chung told the gathering that the company must build on the launch of new eco-friendly vehicles and the rollout of its high-end Genesis brand, Yonhap said.