Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) has indicated that its strategic and co-operative approach with its suppliers instead of just a transactional tie-up was instrumental in achieving higher localisation and offering modern premium features in its models.
Every car brand is working to meet the aspirations of new age customers. Sharper product differentiation to cater to specific needs, increased localisation of parts to keep costs under control, improved quality and sophisticated technology, among others are some of the options.
Country’s second largest car brand Hyundai’s recent launches have come with more premium flavour under its ‘fluidic’ design policy to attract the new age buyers.
HMIL said it assumed the responsibility of helping its suppliers through a comprehensive partnership and helped them access international standards. Such efforts paved the way for achieving higher local content as also raising the bar on quality.
“While some of the vendors have access to the latest technology on heir own, we are working closely with other vendors who need our assistance by providing technological support, helping them remain competitive, both in terms of quality as well as volumes,” said T. Sarangarajan, Vice President – Production, HMIL told The Hindu.
“Our volume models have over 90 per cent localisation which has helped keep costs competitive. Some electronic parts are still imported. Because either quality suppliers are not available or if available, they are expensive. But, efforts are on to localise them too,” he added.
The company said geographical proximity of its suppliers was also a key factor in its localization efforts. About 78 per cent of our vendors are located within Chennai, Kancheepuram & Thiruvallur districts and the rest too, are not very far from the plant. “This greatly boosts our ability to be highly flexible in production, be agile and responsive to market needs,” he added.
