The company has shown a strong growth this year and we expect the market share to grow this year. The company has already achieved 17.5 per cent of the market share in FY 2015-16. The growth is a significant one considering the company had a market share of just 16 per cent in FY 2014-15, so yes it is on a growth streak. Having said that, the company is working double time to grab 20 percent by the end of 2018 and that by the looks of it looks quite achievable. The strategy then, was as clear as daylight and there's a lot more to come.
It's been more than 18 years that Hyundai has been in India and marquees like the Santro, i10 and now even the Creta have become household names. The South Korean car manufacturer has brought in products that have forged new segments (Grand i10 and Creta) while there are others who have brought in segment first features. This year the company produced its 7 millionth car in India and it was the top-of-the line Creta Automatic that had the honour of being that car.
Hyundai managed to achieve this feat in a record time of under 18 years of commercial operation. In fact, the company has proved that it can cross the 1 million mile stone, at an average of every 18 months.
If we turn back the clock, Hyundai's first million car to roll out of the production line was a Santro, in 2006 and this was just 8 years after commencement of commercial production in India. Post which we saw the 5 millionth car off the production line in October 2013. In fact going by the current projections, Hyundai plans to roll out its 10 millionth car in India by 2021.
This year was quite an exceptional one for the company as Hyundai introduced two new cars in India - the Elantra and the Tucson. We've driven the Elantra and found it to be quite a good car, in fact we got to know that the company has been working on the ride quality of the car, so it had been tweaked to a sporty setting. In fact, with the Elantra, the company got it right even with the price which is why bookings for the car have soared and have crossed the 1500 mark.
Post this success, came the all-new Tucson and Hyundai had to tread that path gingerly because this meant curtailing the production of the Elantra and giving way to the new car. Yes, the waiting period for the Elantra would have been affected but Hyundai managed to contain the situation well and though with a slight delay, managed to launch the Tucson, yet again, at a meaty price point. No wonder it's already garnered 200 bookings
Come 2017, we'll have the new-gen Verna, the Grand i10 and XCent Facelifts as well as a minor facelift to the Creta. The company will be building our curiosity as we move closer to the Auto Expo in 2018 with its all-new sub-compact SUV (a concept which we were a witness to at the Auto Expo 2016) and there is certainly more to come.
