As far as sales for the first 7 months this fiscal are concerned, Hyundai India has managed to replace Toyota India as the third largest UV maker in the country. Hyundai managed to do this thanks to their Creta crossover which was launched last year in India.
Thanks to Creta, Hyundai India’s UV sales jumped from 31,049 units in April-October 2015 to 56,971 units in April-October 2016. This is a staggering 83% increase in UV sales for Hyundai India. Toyota India on the other hand, posted sales of 56,971 units in the same period this year, which is a growth of 15.7% against last year’s numbers. Below are the numbers-
Hyundai India’s CEO YK Koo has revealed that the Creta compact crossover has helped increase the brand’s average price tag per unit from INR 3-4 lakhs to INR 7 lakhs thereby improving the profit margin per unit. Though the Indian subsidiary is not as profitable as Hyundai’s other leading subsidiaries, over the course of time, the automaker has managed to establish itself as a premium brand in the sub-continent.
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The biggest segment in India is the price-sensitive small car space where the profit margins are pretty thin. So, the Hyundai Creta’s stellar sales performance in the premium segment comes as a huge boost to the automaker’s financial wellness. The Creta also played a major role in Hyundai India’s growth of 16% last year when the industry grew only by 8%. The market share also increased by 1% to 17.3% last year.
Moving forward, the CEO is confident of the SUV segment’s potential. Last year, 13% of Hyundai India’s sales came from SUVs, this year they are estimating the figure to reach 20% by the end of this year. The newly launched Tucson SUV will help the brand even further.
