Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) announced on Wednesday that export shipments by rail had begun, with the first shipment of 125 cars going to Nepal.
The first export shipment was flagged off from the Walajabad Railway hub near the Irungattukottai company’s production facility outside Chennai, the auto major said in a statement.
The train will reach the border between India and Nepal at Nautanwa, near the border town of Sonauli, where the last mile of delivery will be through the roads due to the topography of Nepal, he added.
The overall on-road movement time is expected to reduce from 8 days to 5 days, bringing the cars faster and more eco-friendly manner to the customers, the company said.
“As a progressive OEM, all our production processes follow green practices for the conservation of natural resources…To further enhance our initiatives, we have commenced our first-ever eco-friendly exports operations through Railways by dispatching 125 cars in 25 rakes in this first consignment to Nepal, reducing Carbon footprint by 20,260 tons,” HMIL Director-Production Ganesh Mani S said.
The company already ships around 14 percent of its domestic car volumes by the rail route instead of the road, he added.
HMIL exports to over 88 countries from its Chennai facility. It has already surpassed the 30 lakh vehicle export milestone last year.