Fast, Furious And Electric

Hyundai Motor India, the country’s second-largest carmaker, is pushing new launches, tech innovations and electric vehicles amid a slowdown, while affiliate Kia Motors bolsters its growth journey

- Manu Balachandran

This year has been rather strenuous for the country’s carmakers.

Car sales have plummeted nearly 25 percent in India—the world’s fourth-largest automobile industry—and conservative estimates suggest that a recovery could take another year. A mix of several factors—like India’s plans to endorse new emission norms, a financial crunch in the rural market and slowing income growth—has hit the automobile industry, and the Indian economy, severely.

By October 2019, automobile sales—which contribute nearly 7 percent to the country’s gross domestic product in an industry that employs millions of people— had plummeted for 11 months in a row, making it the worst slump in two decades. The slowdown also meant that companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra cut production and laid-off workers.

Yet, the Hyundai Motor Company has remained unperturbed.

First, the South Korean company launched three new models in 2019, including the wildly successful subcompact SUV, Venue, the electric SUV, Kona, and the hatchback, Nios. Then, during the course of the year, Hyundai increased its market share from nearly 15.5 percent to almost 18.4 percent, after cornering 19.4 percent of the market in August alone.

In the process, Hyundai also saw the lowest decline (10 percent) in car sales among its competitors between April and September. At the same time, Maruti Suzuki had a sales decline of 27 percent, while Tata Motors and Honda Motors saw a 35 percent decline.

“Considering how well we have survived through these tough times, we might have much more growth potential once the market revival happens,” SS Kim, Hyundai Motors India’s managing director, and CEO, tells