Korean car maker Hyundai Motor India Ltd., (HMIL) is planning to roll out cars in three new segments. Besides, HMIL is also eyeing a strong double digit growth in India during 2017, said a top official.
“These three will be in new segments. They will be all new family car, Sports Utility Vehicle and hybrid cars,” said Y.K. Koo, Managing Director, HMIL.
As part of its strategy of rolling out at least two new cars per year, HMIL announced 10 new products over the next four years (2017-2020) to accelerate its domestic growth. The proposed plan includes rollout of new segments, new models and upgrades of the existing models.
In January 2017, HMIL launched the Grand i10 facelift and this will be followed by the rollout of all new compact segment and the mid-segment sedan car.
Next year, Hyundai will showcase its ionic hybrid model at the Auto Expo 2018 in New Delhi and select models would be launched in the future. The second half of 2018 will see the rollout of family concept and designed car that will be positioned above its existing model Eon. Select models will be unveiled in the hybrid model.
In 2019, the company plans to launch a sub-4 metre sports utility vehicle (SUV). Hyundai had showcased Carlino in 2016 and the new SUV will be based on this concept. Hyundai’s existing SUV ‘Creta’ is a key volume driver for the company currently.
“We are bullish about the growth in India and globally India is a very important market for Hyundai. India is the third largest market for Hyundai Motor in global sales after China and the US. Last year, HMIL’s contribution was 13.6% and in January 2017, it got increased to 15%,” Mr. Koo said.
On the export front, he said their market share has come down to around 25-30% from around 40% due to a slowdown in the South Africa and Middle East markets. The company was utilising its capacity to cater the domestic demand, he said.
“During 2016, HMIL produced 6.65 lakh cars and this year, we will produce 6.70 lakh cars. The existing capacity at Sriperumbudur near Chennai will be sufficient for the next 3-4 years,” he said.
HMIL is planning to register 17-18% growth this year, even as the industry would be logging a single digit growth, he said.
