Hyundai Motor India appoints Tarun Garg as MD and CEO, first Indian to achieve feat; when will he take over?
Hyundai Motor India appointed Tarun Garg as its new chief executive officer late on Tuesday. Garg will be the first Indian to head the domestic arm of the South Korea-based automaker and will also serve as the company’s Managing Director, an insider said.
Garg will assume his new role from January 1, 2026, subject to shareholder approval. He is currently serving as Whole Time Director and COO of Hyundai Motor India Ltd.
Garg will replace Unsoo Kim, who has led Hyundai Motor India since 2022, and will return to South Korea to take on a strategic role at parent company Hyundai Motor Co. at the end of the year.
The company said Garg’s takeover as CEO demonstrates “Hyundai’s strong confidence in India’s leadership capabilities and India’s growing strategic importance in the global automotive landscape.”
Commenting on his appointment, Tarun Garg said, “I am deeply honored by the trust and confidence that Hyundai Motor Group has placed in me. India’s automotive industry is in an exciting phase of transformation and by stepping into this role, I aim to contribute to HMIL’s continued growth in this market.”
The South Korean automaker, which entered India in 1996, is the country’s second largest automaker after Maruti Suzuki with its best-selling models such as Creta, Venue and i20.
Hyundai Motor India made the announcements ahead of the company’s first investor day since its launch last year.
The company’s shares, which are up nearly 32 percent since their listing on the stock exchange, are up 33 percent so far in 2025 and traded largely flat on Wednesday.
Former Maruti Suzuki India executive Tarun Garg, who has been with Hyundai for six years, was the lead orchestrator of the Hyundai Motor India IPO in 2024.
Hyundai Motor India’s investment plans
The company announced that it plans to invest ₹450 billion ($5.07 billion) in funding will be provided by fiscal 2030 to increase capacity and strengthen research and development; Approximately 60 percent of the funds will be allocated to R&D, with the remainder allocated to product upgrades and capacity expansion.
It also targets double-digit underlying earnings margins of 11-14 percent between fiscal 2026 and 2030 and forecasts a 7 percent compound annual growth rate in domestic sales over the next five years.
