"We will have new products in all segments," Arvind Saxena, director of sales and marketing at Hyundai Motor India Ltd., told Dow Jones Newswires in a recent interview. "New products play a vital role in boosting sales."
Hyundai will soon start selling an upgraded version of its mid-sized sedan Vern acura a as part of this product introduction plan, he added.
The company also makes small cars Santro, i10 and i20 and sedans Accent and Sonata at its factory near the southern port city of Chennai and imports and markets the Santa Fe sport-utility vehicle.
Global auto makers are queueing up to take advantage of the robust Indian economy and rising personal incomes that have helped boost demand for new two-wheelers, cars and sport-utility vehicles corsa .
Volkswagen, Ford Motor Co., Nissan Motor, Renault SA, Toyota Motor Corp. and others have either introduced small cars or plan to do so in the near future to cater to the record-growing demand.
New car local sales jumped 30% in the financial year ended March 31--the fastest in more than a decade--to 1.98 million vehicles.
But newer entrants are challenging the dominance of older, more established auto makers including that of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. and Hyundai. The two have already lost some market share in the past year because of increased competition.
"Going forward, we are confident that we would retain our market share. New models will help us in doing so," Mr. Saxena said.
Market share of the local unit of Suzuki Motor Corp in India fell to 48.7% in the year through March from 50.1% a year earlier, while Hyundai's share stood at 18.1% from the 20.6% it held a year earlier, according to data from industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
Hyundai Motor India aims to sell at least 400,000 cars and SUVs locally in 2011, up 12% from last year's 356,717 vehicles. Still, the sales growth will be nearly half of last year's 23% rise as increasing interest costs and rising prices of raw materials such as steel, aluminum and natural rubber will likely dent demand, Mr. Saxena said.
"There would be a moderation in the whole industry. We will also grow at a similar pace," he said.
Hyundai Motor India aston martin plans to raise prices of all its vehicle models between 1% and 1.5% by Saturday du audi e to higher commodity prices, Mr. Saxena said, marking the company's second price since January due to higher input costs.
Hyundai follows Maruti, Tata Motors Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd., Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. and others that have all raised prices twice in 2011.
Also, exports of Hyundai--India's largest vehicle exporter--are expected to fall 11% in 2011 to 220,000 vehicles owing to weak demand for small cars in Europe.
The auto maker sells 'made-in-India' small cars to 118 countries globally and its i10 small car is made exclusively in India for the global market.
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