[carjack3090]

Hyundai India: The way forward

Hyundai entered India in the year 1998, since past decade and half Hyundai had been the de-facto number 2 in the Indian market, trailing only the giant- Maruti Suzuki in sales.

Hyundai was seen as a mass market brand alike Maruti Suzuki and their Hatchbacks like Santro, i10 and i20 were very popular among the masses, known for their powertrains and first in class features, Hyundai was finally able to beat Maruti Suzuki with their Creta, a blockbuster seller that has since been the benchmark for its segment

Hyundai achieved their peak in year 2023 and since then have been seeing competition and decline. A de-facto number 2, they are now competing with 2 other Indian brands for the same position. They were twice pipped by Tata Motors last year at number 2 and now by Mahindra in month of February.




Source- Autopunditz

Hyundai sales figures are almost the same 7 years apart, and it has been hawing around 45-55K sales since sometime. In the meantime, sales of the Indian car makers has jumped over 100 percent. Indian car market has also jumped around 40 percent and its base has moved upwards of 4 Million cars an year

What Hyundai has done right

1.Provide Feature rich cars to a consumer that demands cars with value

Indian consumers unlike their Western counterparts see Cars as an investment rather than as an utility. So Indian consumers want the cars to provide value greater than just their perceived utility as a mode of travelling, Hyundai has been ably compiling with this psyche of Indian consumers, be it first in class Sound system, Instrument cluster, Backseat experience, etc.

2.Be The pioneer of 4.3 m segment.

Although Duster was the first to make something out of the 4.3-meter segment, Hyundai was able to crack the segment with their offering “Creta” which since then have become synonymous with the mid-size SUV/Crossover segment itself. Creta came at the Goldilocks zone for space, comfort and practicality. Creta was also first time they were able to beat Maruti Suzuki, it took Suzuki 7 more years to finally be competing at that segment with their Grand Vitara offering

3.Aspirational products at a decent price.

Hyundai's products had an aspiration among the buyers for their features. It mugged down the experience of a Premium car to an affordable level. A Venue can be standing beside a Jeep Compass and can show equal if not greater levels of aspiration quality though Venue is only half the price of a Compass. Hyundai made sure India buyers get more than the competitors at same price. The quality of Hyundai's in India often match their international counterpart, unlike a Suzuki or a Honda who do massive cost cutting in product making

4. An attitude that shows that they care about India


Unlike the Japanese who often are criticized for not putting in efforts for India, Hyundai shows a commitment for India and Indians. Hyundai has put up a massive R&D center in India for their Indian products and its development, whereas their South Korean counterparts often signal to India while making or aligning their future plans. They recently also launched their IPO and listed themselves in the Indian Stock Market. Hyundai's service is also known to be reliable (though not bulletproof)

Where Hyundai went wrong

1. Only seen as The Creta maker

Hyundai since 2022 can majorly be recognized only as the Creta car maker, their products since a while have revolved around the Creta ideology- be it looks, positioning or interior. They seem like either to be a smaller version of Creta (Venue), Creta itself or bigger version of Creta (Alcazar). The Creta success has also meant Hyundai not focus on product differentiation and rather try milk Creta to its fullest. This means that Creta gets an N-line, Turbo Petrol, Electric, etc. On the other hand Verna (the more enthusiastic car) doesn't even get the N-line or the Diesel it needs.

2. Missing Desirability

Hyundai products provide aspirational values at a good price but their products themselves don't cater to that aspiration anymore. Where Mahindra have the Scorpio and Thar that cater to enthusiastic buyers that ignore value quotient for fun quotient, Hyundai has no product that cater only to the fun side. Their N-lines too are tuned for practicality and do not provide out right fun. Since Covid pandemic, the car buyers are moving greatly towards fun factor along with value and Hyundai does not have any fun products in India to compete with

3. The Halo Products

Hyundai has a great line of Halo products internationally but unlike the Volkswagen group that keeps showing up with Halo products like VRS or GTs from time to time, Hyundai keeps its International products away from India. Halo products help in setting up a brand's position and since Hyundai avoids their International products, their buyers always see them for their utility and value. Ioniq 5 was their last International launch in India and it performed well in India (till BYD came up with even better product at a similar price). In mid 2000s Hyundai did set up their brand position with help of Sonata and Santa FE

4. Sister brand KIA

Hyundai's sister brand KIA on the other hand often gave some rude awakening to Hyundai, with their first launch Seltos, they out beat Hyundai in value quotient and forced Hyundai to update Creta with even better features. Similarly Kia launched the Carens as an independent product rather than launching an Alcazar alike. Since then the Carens has turned into a good seller for KIA where as Alcazar has kept on struggling. Kia's EV6 has outdone Ioniq's sales figures (despite being a CBU and being priced 15 lakhs more). Similarly their Carnival has commanded a huge demand despite being a CBU. Now KIA has launched a rear seat focused car in "Syros" and have seen a decent start. Kia since their entry have been bigger risk takers than Hyundai and although their sales have been limited, their impact on the Indian market has been higher.

5. Lack of future products

Hyundai's products are stuck in the present, and do not have the same value for future. The Car market has seen an upward movement from 5 lakhs to 11 lakhs, and will see movement towards 15-20 lakh segment where products priced around 25 lakh become the new deal makers. Where Tata have their Harrier/Safari twins (joined by Sierra later this year) and Mahindra have their array of SUVs, Hyundai has none of their products at this price range. Hyundai's Tucson carries an able image, but a lackluster in powertrain (Petrol) limits its appeal. Hyundai has plans for XUV700 competitor but have not showcased any product yet. Meanwhile competition is already moving forward with updates and plans to milk this segment.

6. When I can buy a Punch ,why will I get an Exter

Another mistake Hyundai has done is create Exter as a Punch copycat rather than have its own USP. Exter has a more Hatchback image with its grounded stance rather than the taller image of Punch, but aside from that everything else seems like a Punch copy. Hyundai greatly missed on providing any USP for Exter, the 1 liter turbo that once was part of Aura could had been that USP but Hyundai instead went meekly with naturally aspirated engine that feels lethargic. Exter without a USP doesn't do half the sales of Punch and has been an average seller for Hyundai. It was also their last all new product launch in India.

What Hyundai should do?

1. Showcase their future products

What exactly they are going to be, how does Hyundai plan to position? Right now the buyers have no clue what is next from Hyundai and the uncertainty is not helping them attract new buyer list

2. Aggressive entry into the Hybrid powertrain

Hyundai's biggest threat are the CAFE Norms of 2027, Hyundai needs to enter the Hybrid terrain as soon as possible. They have shown plans for Hybrid entry (https://www.team-bhp.com/news/hyunda...alcazar-tucson) but they should do it before 2027 when Diesel norms get stricter. Meantime Hyundai must launch the Tucson Hybrid in India to ensure they don't lose out on prospective buyers who like the Tucson for its capabilities but are turned off by its Petrol Powertrain

3. Halo Products

Hyundai needs to take a leaf out of the Kia's playbook and launch some of their halo international products that can help them position their brand in a stronger way. Some products they can bring here in limited numbers include Ioniq 5N, New Generation Santa Fe and Sonata. If MG can take the risk with Cyberster and Mifa 9, Hyundai should also be able to do the same and thus launch some of their iconic international products in India

4. Mellow down the design language

Hyundai has often gone bizarre with their designs (cue tube light of Verna) and a lot of buyers are getting turned off by their bad and radical choices. On the other hand a lot of their products look the same, Alcazar clearly seem like a stretched Creta and Venue seems like a chopped Creta. Hyundai needs to take the textbook definition of design differentiation and work on it, meanwhile also look to keep it simple and easy

5. Half baked products won't work

Creta EV clearly seemed like a half baked product with its hanging Battery at the ground or its price positioning. Hyundai must remember Indian buyers have humbled the most arrogant and must not take them for granted. They need to come up with a ground to up EV strategy with their product and price them correctly

6. Export Initiative


Hyundai's Exports have also been lagging since sometime. Where Maruti, Volkswagen, Honda are able to increase their numbers (https://www.autocarpro.in/analysis-s...n-a-row-124419), Hyundai has been stagnate since a while. Looking at the South African reviews for Exter, it is clear that they are committing the same mistakes abroad as they are in India. Hyundai India should look to increase their Export potential from India abroad which will simultaneously help them position their products better in India as well

[humyum]

Hyundai should start bringing its international model line up here. Some segments they are not there only, Kia has a Carens, what does Hyundai have? Kia has a Carnival, Hyundai has?

Firstly, they should get the Stargazer and Staria in India and start challenging the uninterrupted run Crysta is having. Its a segment which cannot be left at the mercy of Toyota alone. Surprise Toyota by getting the AWD versions in these vans here, let the taxi segment in the north and hilly regions start using these and create a sense of reliability.

In Sedans, the way the Verna has picked up, get the Elantra in too with similar design language. People are picking up Skoda Slavia and VW Virtus when everyone thought the Sedan days were over.

Get the SantaFe in, challenge the likes of Fortuner and MG.

The Ester needs a Kylaq to start appealing it to the younger generation. I drove the Ester and man, its one boring car to drive (AMT, No Turbo)

Hyundai has to start getting more segments and cars here than milking the ones in which they are doing well.

[saikishor]

Hyundai should start making safer cars. The manufacturers that are trailing Hyundai have been selling strongly because they had safety as a strong USP, which Hyundai totally lacks. The Verna is a step in the right direction, but they have to ensure that the rest of their lineup is also as safe. IMO this is one thing that Hyundai is totally lacking.

[Rumblestrip]

Hyundai is commiting the same mistake as Honda. Honda is/was trying to keep the City their flagship product which resulted in step-motherly treatment of its other products. Hyundai is doing the same with Creta.

They need to identify why they couldn't compete against segment leaders like Punch or Virtus. Also, please tone down the futuristic designs. Though looks are subjective Hyundai leads the race when it comes to weird/ quirky designs.

[It's Magic]

Originally Posted by carjack3090

Where Hyundai went wrong

I would like to add one more point here, which is the drop in popularity of hatchbacks.

Until a few years ago, Hyundai hatchbacks like the Grand i10 or i20 were regularly featuring in the Top 10 sales charts. There were two versions of the Grand i10 being sold simultaneously for a long period.

However, due to the sudden craze for SUVs, hatchback sales have been impacted. This affected Hyundai and it's once top selling hatchbacks.

These days, Hyundai only has one vehicle in the Top 10, while two vehicles are in the Top 20 chart. I think that says a lot about the current condition of Hyundai.

[kgt.v8]

Hyundai has made itself a one car "Creta" wonder now.

Alcazar:
- Alcazar although a decent car does not sell in enough numbers as it has lesser leg room in second row compared to regular Creta.

Creta:
- New variants of Creta have to launched to keep the sales number high.
- Hyundai has silently increased price of SX(O) IVT by ₹9k with new variant launch. This price increase is in less than 3 months since the year started.
- Creta DCT also does not sell in decent numbers which indicates Creta customer base does not prefer DCT.

Verna:
- Verna still does not sell well due to step motherly treatment Hyundai and sales team give it as compared to Creta.
- Verna has more features and a working ADAS L2 and yet cannot beat Virtus with lesser features in sales numbers. This could be mostly due to polarizing look and now the badly designed rear spoiler.
- Needs a "N-Line" variant with higher power and not just a sticker job. Hyundai will not give Verna N-Line until Creta sales dwindle.

Venue:
- The current version looks decent as I was gazing at one in parking lot in Red color.
- Needs a generation change to become relevant again and get people to buy Venue over Sonet, Kylaq or 3XO.


Tucson:
Tucson is a good car and yet Hyundai has not managed to get sales register ringing for it due to higher price bracket for more than 5 years. The interior space is perfect and the interiors feel premium due to soft touch points all over the place. If Hyundai manufactured Tucson locally, it would have less sticker price and could take lot of sales away from Harrier and Hector.

What happens in Thailand stays in Thailand:
A look at Hyundai Thailand portfolio and you realize we get very limited global models in India.

- Thailand gets Palisade as well as Santa Fe, but we don't get these.
- Better not to bring Santa Fe as it definitely will not sell well due to bad looking boxy rear profile.
- Palisade on the other hand feels and looks very premium. A Palisade could increase Hyundai badge value even if it sells only 300 units in a year.
- I still don't understand why car manufacturers cannot bring models they sell in Thailand to India including Toyota and Honda.

The Kia Carnival story:
Everyone was of the opinion that 2025 Kia Carnival launched with ₹65lakh ex-showroom price would see cancellations.
Kia has managed to sell Carnival in decent numbers given the price tag. Total dispatches for New Kia Carnival until Jan 2025 are "892" as per January 2025 sales report analysis thread (January 2025 : Indian Car Sales Figures & Analysis).
If Kia can manage this, why is Hyundai not taking any risk and bringing Palisade to India even as a CBU.

[Sri0030]

Originally Posted by Rumblestrip

Hyundai is commiting the same mistake as Honda. Honda is/was trying to keep the City their flagship product which resulted in step-motherly treatment of its other products. Hyundai is doing the same with Creta.

They need to identify why they couldn't compete against segment leaders like Punch or Virtus. Also, please tone down the futuristic designs. Though looks are subjective Hyundai leads the race when it comes to weird/ quirky designs.

True. Hyundai is too much focusing on Creta. It's having too many variants, for example: Creta ICE with (NA IVT, NA MT, DIESEL AT, DIESEL MT, TURBO DCT and TURBO MT); Creta Electric; Creta 7 seater Alcazar with (TURBO DCT, TURBO MT, DIESEL MT and DIESEL AT). Literally there's a Creta for everyone based on their requirement and budget. It's a good thing actually.

But too much focus on a single model is not good for any manufacturer. I hope Hyundai understands this very quickly unlike Honda.

[carjack3090]

Creta's share in Hyundai's February sales is that of 16,317 cars out of a total of 47,727 cars that Hyundai dispatched from their Factory to showrooms. This stands at a mammoth 34 percent of total sales of the brand (highest among all brands that sell over 20,000 Cars). It also shows their dependency on Creta for their overall sales (Nexon and Innova stand at 33 and 31 percent respectively for their respective brands).

Creta dependency is hurting Hyundai and have stagnated them from growing, their strategy at the present revolve around Creta. Unlike Mahindra or Tata that are bringing original products to foray, Hyundai is milking Creta to the fullest

[DicKy]

Kia has a high riding vehicle only strategy (read no hatchback or sedan) in India. Yet, they have launched the Carnival as well as Carens.

Hyundai really should bring in some segment creators/disruptors and nothing better than MPVs for that. They could bring in the H-1, Staria or easily the Stargazer that shares platforms with the Creta. Look at the sales figures of the Kia Carens compared to the Creta pro max (Alcazar). There are people caring about practicality than SUV image.

Even in SUVs/crossovers why are they stuck with the Tucson? The Santa Fe has gone all boxy now, and would find loads of takers. Or the Palisade. Both available in RHD and in diesel.

Also can't understand them not offering diesels in the lowriders, when the equivalent high riding models have them.

[LakeWalker]

Originally Posted by carjack3090

6. When I can buy a Punch ,why will I get an Exter

Another mistake Hyundai has done is create Exter as a Punch copycat rather than have its own USP. Exter has a more Hatchback image with its grounded stance rather than the taller image of Punch, but aside from that everything else seems like a Punch copy. Hyundai greatly missed on providing any USP for Exter, the 1 liter turbo that once was part of Aura could had been that USP but Hyundai instead went meekly with naturally aspirated engine that feels lethargic. Exter without a USP doesn't do half the sales of Punch and has been an average seller for Hyundai. It was also their last all new product launch in India.

Originally Posted by carjack3090

4. Mellow down the design language

Hyundai has often gone bizarre with their designs (cue tube light of Verna) and a lot of buyers are getting turned off by their bad and radical choices. On the other hand a lot of their products look the same, Alcazar clearly seem like a stretched Creta and Venue seems like a chopped Creta. Hyundai needs to take the textbook definition of design differentiation and work on it, meanwhile also look to keep it simple and easy

Though I agree with everything else, you've said, I disagree with these two points.

First Exter is clearly not a "Punch copy" even though it's a Punch competitor. Even if they copied 60% of Punch's "butch" looks, it would've been a runaway hit. Like you said, Exter is more of a hatchback. Unfortunately, it doesn't even look like a 'crossover', like Fronx.

Second, instead of "mellowing down" the design language, they should be careful with the designs. Again the best example is how Exter looks. I don't agree that the new Verna looks bad. I know many people hate the new verna and equally the i20. But in my humble opinion, both the new Verna and i20 look modern, unlike the old outdated looks of the previous gen i20. While i20 and Verna look like they came from the same company, Exter looks nothing like it. It looks like a mix-and-match game played by some 4 year old.

I honestly wish two of the good-looking cars from Tata's stable (Gorgeous Altroz and Micro-scout-SUV looking Punch) came from Hyundai.

Hyundai needs an SUV-looking car (with more straight lines and fewer curves) below the Venue. It can be the competitor of Punch and maybe up to mid variants of Fronx.

Also one more point, maybe it is just me who thinks this way. For a market that is looking for more "Manly", and "macho" vehicles, 'Venue' is a terrible name for an SUV-looking car. I mean look at the names of the competitors: Fronx, Sonet, Punch, Nexon, XUV 3XO, Kiger, Magnite.
The name 'Venue' always reminds me of this kitten image below.

[Sensible_Speed]

Most comments on this thread feel a bit harsh. Hyundai sells decent numbers of their other products too. The whole no. 1- no. 2 battle doesn't matter as much imo as long as they don't mess it up too much like the Jimny did. Cars like Exter and Grand i10 sell good numbers for the segment. Models to worry about would be the i20, Alcazar and the Aura.
While Creta is a runaway success, I don't see them banking too heavily on it at all. It would be foolish to not capitalise on a model's popularity. Look at Tata with the Nexon. There's a Nexon for almost everyone today, from CNG to electric and a diesel in between.

[07CR]

Two major issues I am seeing-

Launching half baked products like Creta Electric and Alcazar. Why bring a 2018 specced car (Creta EV) in 2025 is beyond my understanding? Did they take competition too lightly? Similarly they knew the reasons for the pre facelift Alcazar's failure. Instead of rectifying them, they just did a nip and tuck and launched same model with same weaknesses.

Secondly lately Hyundai is no more the features stalwart. See Creta vs Seltos or Venue vs Sonet. Both cars are way ahead in terms of equipment. Check Creta Electric vs BE6, BE6 completely overshadows the Creta Electric. Check Alcazar vs Harrier/Thar Roxx, both cars completely overshadow it in equipment. And this is not just now, I observed same trend in 2020 when I got a pre owned Ecosport S. It overshadowed the recently launched Venue in terms of equipment by a large margin.

They need to correct both these points and quickly to not become a sales laggard and lose their current good image.

[eyesice]

My only concern with Hyundai is the exorbitant service costs and swindling done by the A.S.S. While I like their new generation products, the service cost is just unjustifiable. As a counterpart, for e.g VW/Skoda (who are known to be even more expensive) provide 4 years of the Standard Maintenance Package (SMP) as an addon upfront which significantly reduces overall service cost.

[carjack3090]

Hyundai slips to 4th position in the Retail sales of February 2025

Source: FADA

[Lalvaz]

Hyundai vehicles usually have the following advantages:
1) Very reliable, especially when compared to the Indian and german manufacturers
2) Quite refined engines and interiors for its price point
3) Wide service network across the country

They also have the following disadvantages:
1) Price points of the higher variants are sometimes ridiculous
2) No focus on safety, a 20+ lac Creta does not have a 5 safety rating, while cheaper Venue, Exter, I20, I10 had got 2 or 3 stars in various tests over the years. Only the Verna has a 5 star rating
3) Marketing is dismal, no schemes, no incentives to boost sales
4) Product development is very slow, the market seems to be going past them, while they're clutching on to the older models, whose sales are stagnating.

Come on Hyundai, you have a lot going for you, and we really expect you to do better. Give the indian consumers better products at better price points, and your sales will definitely grow by leaps and bounds.