Hyundai Motor India to launch three new products

 Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), the country's largest car exporter and the second largest car manufacturer, is planning to launch three new products in the Utility Vehicle (UV) segments in the next 2-3 years, a top company official said on Tuesday.

HMIL Executive Director (Sales and Marketing Division) Young Jin Ahn said, “UV is the fastest growing segment in India which consists of compact SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) and MPV (Multi-Purpose Vehicle). The segment is growing at a pace of over 35 per cent in India and many customers have strong aspirations to buy such products.” “The aspirations of young customers who want to go out and showcase their SUVs are met by such products for which pricing of UV starts below Rs 10 lakh,” Ahn said.

The Ford Ecosport and Renault Duster have already tasted success in these segments and there is still a need for variegating product offerings in these segments were Hyundai wants to have a presence. Hyundai which had a market share of 7 per cent in 2011 from the rural market has raised it to 20 per cent as of January 2014.

Automobile companies believe that rural markets are growing at a very fast pace due to the disposable income of rural customers. This shows the trend purchase pattern in rural markets in the past few years. The company aims to add more rural sales outlets (RSO) to 335 from 260 in 2012, and will increase its sales and service network across the country from 1,000 to 1,805 outlets by the end of 2015, Ahn said.

The South Korean car maker plans to increase sales at an average annual pace of 15 per cent in the next three years to help the company fully utilise its India capacity of 640,000 units a year and expand its market share in the passenger car segment to 26 per cent from 22 per cent now. 

On Tuesday, HMIL expanded its compact car portfolio with the launch of the Elite i20, priced between Rs 4.9 lakh and Rs 7.80 lakh (ex-showroom Bangalore). The second generation i20 Elite, which made its global debut in India, will compete with the likes of Maruti Suzuki's Swift and Volkswagen’s Polo.

The Elite i20 will be available in both petrol and diesel options. While the petrol version has been priced at between Rs 4.9 lakh and Rs 6.58 lakh, the diesel variants are tagged at Rs 6.20 lakh to Rs 7.80 lakh (ex-showroom Bangalore).

 The new model, on which the South Korean manufacturer has invested Rs 1,050 crore, will replace the existing i20 model. “We remain committed to the Indian market. The all new Elite i20 will help us further enhance the company's market share in India,” HMIL Managing Director & CEO B S Seo said.