JOIN US Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), the country’s second largest vehicle manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter, believes that rural market in Karnataka is developing rapidly, and wants to reach out to remote areas.
Talking to Deccan Herald on the occasion of Hyundai Motors’ 20 years celebration at Advaith Hyundai, HMIL Assistant General Manager and Regional Manager (South Region) Vishal Kher said, “Rural market is one of the most important segments as far as Karnataka is concerned, because it is developing rapidly.”
Kher explained, “Five years ago, customers used to travel 100-150 km to purchase a car. In today’s scenario, every 60-70 km, we have an outlet for a customer to pick up the car. We are expanding our rural segment, as Tier 2 or 3 towns are very important for us.”
Hyundai has 20 dealerships in Karnataka with 44 outlets, out of which, Bengaluru has seven dealers with 14 outlets. HMIL also has 14 rural sales outlets apart from main dealerships.
“We have presence across Karnataka, except few places. However, we are coming up with new dealerships in Hospet, Ballari along with service centres by next month,” Kher added.
New service centres
HMIL has 56 service centres, out of which 28 are in Bengaluru. It has plans to add 8-10 new service centres, this year.
Karnataka contributes 8% of overall sales for HMIL. “In Karnataka, we sell close to 3,500 units per month, Bengaluru contributes 67% and the rest comes from other cities.”
“The Grand i10 is the best selling model for Hyundai in Karnataka with 27-30%, followed by the Elite i20 (20-25%). HMIL has sold over 6,000 units of Creta in Karnataka,” he said.