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Informist, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024

 

 

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--Hyundai's Garg: See auto retail sales picking up during festivals in Oct 
--Hyundai's Garg: Saw good traction in first 7 days of festival season in Oct 
--Hyundai's Garg: Not worried about short-term aberrations in auto sales 
--Hyundai's Garg: Jan-Sep SUV contribution equal from rural, urban areas 
--Hyundai's Garg: SUV sales have grown in rural India 

 

 

By Darshan Nakhwa 

 

 

MUMBAI – Hyundai Motor India Ltd expects passenger vehicle retail sales to pick up during the Navratri and Diwali festivals in October, after a decline over the last two months, the company's chief operating officer Tarun Garg said on Wednesday at a press conference held to discuss its initial public offering.

 

In India, auto sales are usually slow between June and September due to heat waves, floods and the off-season period. However, during Navratri and Diwali festivals, sales pick up. After a long time, both these festivals are falling in the same month. Hence, sales are expected to pick up, Garg said.

 

Hyundai Motor, which is the second-largest carmaker in India, reported a 6%-on year decline in passenger vehicle sales in India in September. In the month before, it had reported a decline of 8% in segment sales. Barring few exceptions, most passenger vehicle manufacturers have reported a decline in sales over the last two months. As a result, the passenger vehicle inventory has reached historical high levels of 80–85 days, which is equivalent to 790,000 vehicles worth INR 790 billion, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations said in a report on Monday. 

 

"We are not really worried about these short-term aberrations. We have very strong strategies in place (to drive sales)," Garg said. "We believe very strongly in the Indian auto market. So, I think things are going to be normal, and we have already seen good traction in the first seven days of the festival season," he said. 

 

This year, Hyundai Motor introduced facelifts of its sport utility vehicles, Alcazar and Creta. It also introduced dual-cylinder compressed natural gas variants of Exter and Grand i10 Nios, and sunroof variants of Venue. Further, the frequent updates to products and marketing initiatives help drive sales, Garg said. 

 

Speaking about the sales of sport utility vehicles in India, Garg said, between January and September, the company's category sales stood at 68% of overall passenger vehicle volumes compared with 60% during the same period last year. In comparison, the automobile industry's sport utility vehicle sales stood at around 52?tween January and September this year. There is still some upside to the sport utility vehicle sales in India, he said.  

 

On the likelihood of a comeback of entry-level car sales in India with demand recovery in rural areas, Garg said, "Our rural (sales) penetration is at the highest level. But rural customers wanting small cars is just a myth. From January to September, our sport utility vehicle contribution from rural areas was equal to that from urban areas. Because of rising income, aspiration, even rural customers don't want to compromise on the car, safety and features. We are seeing sport utility vehicle penetration in rural India also going up continuously."

 

However, in a market like India, Hyundai Motor believes the manufacturers need to be present in every segment. "We will continue to look for opportunities that exist in any segment, whether it is hatchback, sedan or sport utility vehicle. At the same time, we must see what it is the customer wants. At this point of time, the preference is higher for sport utility vehicles," Garg said.  End

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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