JOIN USPremium hatchback segment will continue to grow: Hyundai India
This is the day and age when the Indian automobile buyer will not settle for just any car, but demands the best of technologies and features.
With income having risen over the years, the customer is ready to invest in more than a small car and is buying premium hatchbacks and sports utility vehicles.
“Out of the total hatchback market, the premium hatch market has now become the largest segment,” said Tarun Garg, Director, Sales, Marketing and Service, Hyundai Motor India Limited.
“About 10-12 years ago, this used to be the smallest segment. It now constitutes more than 26% of the overall hatch market. As India is evolving, customer aspiration is increasing and people are looking at top of the line, premium hatchbacks. We feel that as disposable income and per capita GDP goes up, this segment is going to grow," says Garg.
“The SUV segment has been growing but not at the cost of the compact premium. They are taking share from the sedan and other segments,” he added.
Hyundai recently launched the fourth generation i20, which was the replacement for the Getz, and it has done well in India.
“We have got volumes with the i20 right from the beginning. The customer wants much more in a vehicle. We feel that if we are offering so much to the customer, the volumes will take care of itself. So, in India we never set a volume target, but our target is how much we can satisfy our customer," Garg explained.
Hyundai India also enjoys a good share of the premium hatch segment. “In the premium hatch, in the last four years, our share has hovered at around 33%. So, we are holding on to one-third of the market despite so many models being available,” he stated.
India is becoming a hub for manufacture and export of cars. Asked if Hyundai has any plans of capacity expansion, Garg said: “Our capacity is about 765,000 vehicles. We keep a very close watch on the market and there is a continuous assessment as to how we can satisfy demand. Our internal assessment is that this capacity is enough for the next couple of years. As and when we feel the need to enhance capacity, we definitely will do the needful."
The Venue compact SUV was launched with the intelligent manual transmission (iMT) and it appears to be a success. “We have had a very good experience with the iMT in the Venue. Demand in terms of conversion from manual to iMT is close to 60%. We were pretty sure about acceptance of this technology and owners were very happy. So, we decided to come in with the iMT as a standard fitment as far as the i20 is concerned. Demand would slowly go down as far as the manual is concerned, especially in this segment,” said Amit Dhaundiyal, Group Head, Product Strategy and Planning, HMIL.
The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the economy hard and the automobile industry even harder because it was already going through a slowdown. “Covid-19 has taught us to look at things month by month and that we have to be flexible. We also have to see what we can do according to the needs of the customer. When the economy improves, the momentum should be there. But we are very confident about the prospects in the Indian market in the long term," Garg explained.
“Despite challenging market conditions, Hyundai has introduced nine products in the last 18-20 months. This year, despite the pandemic, we continue to launch new products and technologies. As long as you are able to give the Indian customer choices, new and latest technologies at an affordable price, this is what the customer is looking for,” Garg stated.