Hyundai India: An Able Challenger to Maruti Suzuki?

<< Previous

Excerpts....

With the incomes of the Indian middle class customers rising, the Indian automobile sector exapaned from 2005 to 2013. The sales of passenger vehicles increased from 1,549,882 units in 2007-08 to 2,686,429 units in 2012-13 (Refer to Exhibit I for trends of automobile sales in India). The gross revenues of the Indian automobile manufacturers increased from US$ 30.5 million for the year 2007 to US$ 58.6 million for the year 2011 and recorded a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.7 percent (Refer to Exhibit II for a chart of Indian automobile manufacturers’ revenues from 2007 to 2011). HMIL followed a unique business model to expand its share in the booming market for passenger vehicles in India. The market leader in the Indian automobile market, Maruti Suzuki, had traditionally followed a strict value for money approach for the cars it sold in the Indian market.

or or PayPal (9 USD)

In 2011, HMIL launched a new variant of its mid-level sedan the Verna called as the ‘Fluidic Verna’. The first version of the Verna which was launched in the Indian market in the year 2006 did not do well as it featured an outdated design. The new Fluidic Verna boasted of luxury interiors, sophisticated technology, and premium appeal. HMIL launched the Fluidic Verna in 10 design trims with 3 engine options to choose from. As the Indian automobile market was becoming more and more feature driven, HMIL added a host of new features which had not been available in that segment till then. ........

HMIL focused on attracting tech savvy younger customers. It recognized the importance of social media in reaching out to the younger customers and started using its official Facebook and Twitter pages to increase its engagement with these customers. In November 2013, HMIL launched a service application called ‘Hyundai Care’ for both the major mobile platforms, Android and iOS . The application kept track of the vehicle’s service history, calculated the insurance amount to be paid for the vehicle, and gave timely service reminders. .......

Since the financial crisis struck the world in 2008, many leading automotive companies in the world like Toyota and GM had stumbled. But Hyundai had bucked the trend in the automobile industry and grown quickly. A combination of new models, aggressive pricing, and improved quality standards in its cars made it the fastest growing automobile company in the world. Its top of the range models like the Elantra, Sonata, and Genesis bagged the ‘Car of the year’ awards in major automobile markets in the world such as North America........

Even though the market performance of HMIL had come under strain due to a variety of factors, many analysts and industry observers were of the view that HMIL had a bright future in the Indian automobile market. One of the reasons cited by them for this view was the maturing of the Indian automobile market. As more and more Indian consumers were growing richer, they could now afford better and expensive automobile models........

Exhibit I:Automobile Domestic Sales Trends in India
Exhibit II: Gross turnover of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (In USD Millions)
Exhibit III:Passenger Car Segments in As Per SIAM
Exhibit IV: Customer Service Index Scores of Automobile Makers in India for the Year 2013
Exhibit V: Sales of Top five Indian Automobile Manufacturers from 2011 to 2013
Exhibit VI: Annual Sales of HMIL and Maruti Suzuki from 2007-2012
Exhibit VII: Automakers’ Market share by Segments in India