Hyundai, India’s second-largest passenger car maker, has seen a strong response for its Venue compact SUV, which received more than 75,000 bookings since it was launched in India in May this year, even as the overall automobile market has seen sluggish demand.
The recently-launched Kona electric SUV has also received over 300 bookings. S.S. Kim, the managing director and CEO of Hyundai Motor India told THE WEEK that shifting preferences towards SUVs was a global phenomenon and that this trend was growing stronger in India. He also feels the current slowdown in the sector is cyclical and will turn around once the economy picks up. Excerpts:
Q. Overall, how do you see the Indian auto market panning out given the slowdown that we see now?
We understand that sometimes a slowdown in the market is a cyclical phenomenon and it will phase out as the socio-economic situation improves. Hyundai has gained 3 per cent market share to 19.4 per cent in July-August 2019. Additionally, our market share from Jan-Sept was 18.4 per cent. We believe Hyundai is a smart and customer-centric organisation and our goal is to excite the market to engage customers with innovative products and experiences in various market conditions. Customers showcase more trust in tried and tested brands like Hyundai in such situations.
Q. Hyundai has received a strong response for the Venue SUV. What’s worked in the favour of Venue?
Hyundai forayed into the compact SUV segment with the Venue. Being India’s first fully connected car, it has set the tone for technological innovation in the automobile industry. Today, the Venue has taken a lead in the industry by becoming the most preferred compact SUV, the [one] tech-savvy youth and technologically-discerning professionals were looking for. With an overwhelming response of over 75,000 bookings, over 55 per cent individuals opted for the Blue Link enabled variant of the Venue and that shows a clear trend that millennials love it.
Q. How do you plan to meet this increasing demand for Venue?
By implementing smart manufacturing processes, we have enough production capacity to match customer demand in 2019. Additionally, our plant is currently running at full capacity and hence we feel we are well-equipped to meet the rising demand for Venue, Grand i10, Creta, Elite i20 and other models.
Q. Overall, new SUV launches have seen strong demand despite the overall slowdown in the automobile industry. What would you attribute this to? Do you think the sales for the Venue are sustainable?
The preference for owning SUVs is a global phenomenon. Factors like functionality, space and comfort along with great driving experience and manoeuvrability have led to a strong emergence of SUVs in India. Hyundai Venue is India’s first fully-connected SUV with advanced BlueLink technology. It has many first-in-industry safety features like Vehicle Theft Tracking and Immobilization for recovery of stolen vehicles. I’m confident that the Venue will continue to excite Indian customers. With combined sales of our SUV portfolio—Venue, Creta and Tucson—we have become the largest SUV manufacturer in India with a market share of 21 per cent.
Q. It is estimated that SUV sales in India will overtake that of hatchbacks as early as next year. What do you feel are the key reasons customers now prefer SUVs over cars?
Car owners in the Indian market are now looking at redefining their driving experience and the numbers clearly show the rising preference for SUVs, especially amongst young buyers. This trend is getting stronger as the aspiration of the Indian customers of owning an SUV has grown exponentially. However, hatchbacks and small cars still have a market share of more than 45 per cent across the country due to emerging rural and regional markets.
Q. How has the response been for the Kona electric SUV?
Kona Electric is a proven and award winning global electric SUV and has created new benchmarks in clean mobility since its launch in July 2019 in India. Kona has created huge anticipation for being India’s first and most efficient EV to date. The change of perception and adaptability is clearly visible as there is huge interest in and request for test drives. We have received an electrifying response to India’s first long range green SUV with more than 300 bookings till date. This affirms Indian customers’ acceptability towards high-end future technologies.
