Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) plans to launch one or two cars every year over the next few years, in a bid to boost its market share as a plunging rupee raises costs amid stagnating domestic demand.
The car-maker is looking at the possibility of rolling out a sedan to replace the now-defunct Accent, and is “definitely interested in the SUV and MPV segments”, according to Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice-President (Marketing & Sales).
The new launches do not include the existing products to be launched after refurbishment.
“These are indeed challenging times, but buyers are always looking for something new and exciting. We are definitely observing the SUV and MPV segments, where the volumes are good. From January to August, our market share has gone up to 20.4 per cent, a level that was last achieved only in 2008,” Mr. Srivastava told reporters on the sidelines of the launch of the Grand i 10 here on Wednesday.
In the last five years, Hyundai has launched seven new brands in India — a fact that Mr. Srivasatava pointed to as “reaffirming the company’s commitment to the Indian market despite the slowdown.”
While the overall industry reported a 14 per cent decline in growth, Hyundai’s sales have dropped only by 4 per cent.
According to Mr. Srivastava, the company expects to shake-off slowdown blues and report positive growth, hopefully driven by the new Grand, in which the car-maker has invested Rs.1,000 crore to develop the product and another $300 million for the engine manufacturing facility.
“The Grand is being positioned high-end, entry level compact segment, a place that Hyundai did not have anything. We believe the Grand and the i 10 are well differentiated and there are no fears of cannibalisation,” he said.
The company also expects nearly 20 per cent of its sales to come from rural areas by 2015, up from 18 per cent right now.
