"We have a plan for the next four years, and we will be investing around almost Rs. 5000 crore in new products. Every year, two new products are going to be brought in, along with refurbishing or refreshing the current products as well - over and above the two new products. So we have a very strong product roadmap because, what we believe is that yes, volumes are there." says Rakesh Srivastava, Director Sales and Marketing, Hyundai Motor India. Hyundai is also stepping up its strategy at a time when sister company Kia has also decided to enter the Indian market. Kia and Hyundai have been very vocal on the fact that they will compete fiercely as rivals - as they do in all other markets they operate in. So Hyundai wants to hit an even bigger stride well before Kia arrives, and in-step with Maruti Suzuki's expansion agenda. "We have already done 7 million production units since inception and we are looking forward towards doing 10 million production units by the first half of 2021 and we are targeting doing a million units in 18 months, which is the fastest by any manufacturer in recent times. So as far as volumes are concerned, they will come in." adds Srivastava.
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Hyundai had initially planned to introduce the Ioniq hybrid sedan and was also expected to bring us the Tucson hybrid by next year. But with the government having shifted its focus firmly on to electric cars, and with hybrids not enjoying any tax breaks, that plan has been shelved. Srivastava says, "We had initiated the project to bring the hybrid technology in a compact sedan of ours and also a compact SUV. But suddenly, we had to let it go. Now the entire thought process is to bring in electric vehicle technology. We have that technology worldwide, but we need to condition it, to make it suitable for India, identify the product that will support the technology. So that's a challenge that we are facing. But then yes! We are going to participate in the electric vehicle technology." Hyundai says the setback on hybrid and reworking its green vehicles plan for India will now take some time, and the earliest it could look at launching mass products with electric powertrains is 2021.
Also Read: 2017 Hyundai Verna Review
Hyundai currently enjoys a 17 per cent market share in India. It is also attempting to try and inch that closer to a 20 per cent share by 2020. This will once again take into account plans from its rivals, including the two mentioned previously.
