The continuously increasing demand for luxury cars in India seems to have made Hyundai assess its strategies for the domestic market. The country's second largest car manufacturer has recently made a proposition to pursue the league of luxury car makers in India, which is currently dominated by the German trio – Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW. Hyundai is planning to launch its high-end sedans like Equus and Genesis, and a compact sports cruiser Veloster, in the domestic market.
Speaking to a Financial Express media personnel at the event, a Hyundai India official was quoted as saying, “We are studying the luxury space right now, though there is nothing definite yet. Apart from Equus, there are more luxury models in the Hyundai range. However, we will need a different network to sell these cars. We are gauging customer acceptance of Hyundai’s luxury car range and then we will take a decision.” Another official claimed, “The luxury car market requires a very different end-to-end long-term strategy in terms of marketing and channel partners. One school of thought is that it will be tough to establish a new brand, but we have been heading towards the premium end progressively with new launches like the Verna, Elantra and Sonata.”
Hyundai Equus is the company's most expensive as well as exclusive sedan, and is only being sold in North America, West Asia, China and South Korea. Interestingly, Hyundai is so conscious about the car's image that at certain places, Equus arrives without the company's badge. In a bid to up-scale the brand image, Hyundai is making an empirical approach which will somehow be beneficial for the company to attain the same feats in premium segment as it has accomplished in the entry and mid-size spaces.
Following the same trend, the company launched Santa Fe and Elantra in the domestic market and in future, it eyes on equalling the German car makers, mentioned above. With innumerable launches planned by the South Korean manufacturer in the upcoming calender, the paradigm shift by the company is not an astonishing news. Hyundai has, in past, delivered some commendably performing automobiles, which are all acclaimed on international standards. Amidst such rumpus, if it follows the queue of luxury cars, it is surmised that the same success will be received by the company.
