Hyundai Motor bets on personal mobility and new product Alcazar to drive sales

NEW DELHI: Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the country's second-largest vehicle manufacturer, expects demand to rebound gradually as more and more people look for personal mobility in the aftermath of the second wave of the pandemic.

With customer sentiment expected to gradually recover in the coming months, Hyundai plans to consolidate its leadership position in the fast growing sports utility vehicle segment in the domestic market with the introduction of its latest product Alcazar - a seven-seater premium SUV.

The new product will compete with the likes of Mahindra and Mahindra’s XUV 500, Tata Motors’ Safari and MG Motor India’s Hector.

“The shift towards personal mobility is going to be a big driving factor. It is only going to increase, whether for commuting to the office, vacation or anything. So, I think this will be a strong driving factor, going forward. I don’t think there is any reason to panic and the experience of last year will come in handy,” said Tarun Garg, director, sales, marketing and service, Hyundai Motor India.

“As long as the product is good, it meets all the expectations and gives the customer something to look forward to at the right price, then irrespective of the market situation, it is expected to do well. In fact, a good product launch will not only help the company but also bring some excitement in the overall market,” Garg said.

Manufacturers like Hyundai witnessed a swift recovery in sales during August-September last year as a result of increased preference for personal mobility and faster-than-expected improvement in economic activity.

Hyundai reported its highest ever production during September-October, expecting good demand during the festival season.

It had taken over Maruti Suzuki as the leading manufacturer of sports utility vehicles as sales of its products, Creta and Venue, picked up substantially.

According to Garg, the automotive industry's operations are expected to bounce back to 75% of normal levels in June. In May, this was at 25% because of the lockdown.

“Today almost 85% of the Indian market is open. We look forward to an even better July. The lesson we learnt from last year’s lockdown is that the Indian customer is quite resilient and the shift towards personal mobility is getting stronger. The vaccination also gives us hope that we will be able to combat covid,” he said.

The South Korean manufacturer, however, is worried that another surge in covid cases in the coming months and rising fuel prices may derail the expected recovery in sales.

The auto industry came under pressure in the first week of April when Maharashtra began strict lockdown measures following a vicious second wave of the pandemic. Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and others followed suit. Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp Ltd, Hyundai and others either stopped production or reduced output significantly.