Hyundai Motor India Ltd says it is undeterred by the slowdown in the automobile sector and expects to close the calendar year with its highest market share in the last five years.
The Korean car manufacturer plans to launch one or two products every year over the next few years. This does not include the relaunch of existing products after refurbishment, said Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice-President. He was addressing the media at the launch of the Grand i10, a compact.
“For us the highest market share in the last five years was 20.4 per cent, reported in 2008. However, from January to August, we already have a market share of 20.4 per cent, and this will only grow further. We would like to challenge our marketing team to come up with the highest numbers,” he said.
This year, Hyundai gained market share between January and July. “We picked up the right market insights, including a shift in the buying pattern among customers from petrol to diesel vehicles,” said Srivastava.
In the last five years, Hyundai has launched seven brands in India. “This shows our commitment to the Indian market,” he added.
Hyundai spent nearly Rs 1,000 crore to develop the Grand i10 and another $350 million to manufacture engines. The engine plant will manufacture around 300,000 units annually, said Srivastava.
The average monthly car sale in India is 1.56 lakh units, of which the compact car segment accounts for 1.06 lakh units. While the industry has 23 compact car brands, Hyundai has four.
Eighteen per cent of Hyundai’s sales have come from rural areas. The company hopes to increase this to 20 per cent by 2015. As of August, Hyundai had sold around 2.5 lakh units in the domestic market and 1.8 lakh units in export markets.