Hyundai is seeing a clear shift towards sports utility in the passenger car space, said Tarun Garg, Director-Sales, Marketing and Service at the Korean auto major. Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) are contributing 46 percent to the company’s total sales currently, he said, while adding that SUVs and the compact premium segment are driving growth in the passenger vehicles segment. Overall, Hyundai now has a 26 percent market share in the SUV segment, Garg said. The Korean auto major reported strong 29 percent domestic sales growth in February.
“There are three reasons why probably the growth has been so good for Hyundai. Firstly, the industry is clearly shifting towards SUVs and over the last five years, we are seeing that. Second is that the new model portfolio that we have, Indian customers are reacting positively to the new model and third reason in our view is, of course, the kind of powertrain and transmission options that we have been able to offer to the customers are helping us,” Garg told CNBC-TV18.
He also said, “Very clearly this shift towards personal mobility is helping the overall industry to grow.”
On increasing prices due to a rise in metal prices, Garg said, “While steel and so many other metal prices are going up, the fuel prices are going up which means that logistic cost goes up at the same time at Hyundai we are always trying to really see if we can do our cost reduction, where we can optimise our supply chain operations and so far we are trying our best. As of now we will maintain the prices and try to take the cost as low as possible by doing all kinds of innovations.”
Talking about the market share, Garg said, “In the calendar year 2020 there are only two segments which are driving the growth or you can say contribution is increasing. One is SUV and the second is the compact premium. As far as Hyundai is concerned, we are now holding 26 percent market share in the SUV segment.”
On sedans, he said, “Seeing traction coming in not only in the compact premium but also in the Sedan segment. The Indian customer is really evolving and wanting to try out these technologies and across segments, we are seeing this kind of traction.”
Watch the video for more
(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)
First Published: Mar 2, 2021 11:41 AM IST
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
2024 Lok Sabha Elections | What does a low voter turnout indicate for NDA and I.N.D.I.A Bloc
Apr 29, 2024 5:48 AM