South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor Company’s India unit believes it can regain its long-standing number-two position in the Indian passenger vehicle (PV) market, even as That competition from domestic automaker Tata Motors is intensifying and “raising the benchmark” for the company.
Tata Motors overtook Hyundai as the country’s second-largest PV manufacturer in India in May, selling 43,341 units, while Hyundai sold 42,293 units in the same month. This is the second time in the last six months that Tata Motors has overtaken Hyundai to grab the coveted No. 2 position in the Indian PV market. However, Tata Motors is getting closer to bridging its gap with Hyundai in terms of market share due to steady increase in production of both its Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and Electric Vehicles (EVs).
“Monthly numbers or a month or two of sales here and there doesn’t define Hyundai. We are long term players and invest and plan for long term commitments. We have already announced six Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) by 2028 and the launch of IONIQ 5 this year. We brought the Kona EV to India in 2019, when no one was talking about a range of more than 450 km in an SUV body style,” said Tarun Garg, Director, Sales and Marketing, Hyundai India.
“We fully recognize that benchmarks are changing and as a leading global player we understand that the competitive landscape is changing. Hence we are not satisfied at all and will continue to work hard. That our internal benchmarks are also being raised. Who would want to lose their No. 2 spot? At least Hyundai,” Garg said.
Garg stressed that Hyundai’s No. 2 position in the Indian market is “100% defensive”.
The ongoing global shortage of semi-conductor chips has resulted in the automaker making production harder than Tata Motors, which at least partly explains its inability to scale up production of the PV market, particularly SUVs. Demand.
Hyundai was the market leader in the SUV segment in 2020 and 2021, accounting for around 23% of the market, driven by the compact SUV Venue and the mid-sized Creta.
In the first five months of 2022, SUV sales have overtaken hatchbacks for the first time in the Indian car market, accounting for 41% of the total market, while hatchbacks made up 37.4% of sales. Within this segment, compact SUVs account for 21.3% of the overall market.