South Korean manufacturer Hyundai, ever since its entry into the Indian car market, has experienced an upward graph in terms of growth and profits. With brilliant strategy making, right product portfolio and top class branding, Hyundai has gone on to become the sole firm in the passenger car peripheral that has challenged the dominance of Maruti Suzuki, which, in itself, is a huge achievement. In fact, industry experts feel that in the next decade, Hyundai can actually go on and pip Maruti Suzuki, knocking India’s largest passenger car maker off its perch. Sources claim that Hyundai has elaborate plans for the Indian market and its future launches can help push the envelope in the ambition of overtaking Maruti Suzuki.
The past one and a half year has been an excellent indicator of how Maruti Suzuki has not been operating in full gear, an opportunity that Hyundai grabbed with both hands. India’s most trusted brand launched the Maruti Suzuki Stingray model in the month of August and somehow, it did not strike a chord with customers. Hyundai, sensing the opportunity, went ahead and introduced the Grand i10 hatchback, which literally took the market by storm. Be it the performance, style or its fuel economy, Hyundai Grand i10 fired on all cylinders and went on to win Car of the Year award and deservingly so. In literally no time, Hyundai Grand i10 has become the favourite new car for Indian customers along with the Ford EcoSport.
Though Maruti Suzuki was not overtaken by Hyundai even then due to its pre-existing best sellers like Swift and Alto 800, it certainly did not dampen the South Korean manufacturer’s intent. Hyundai went a step ahead and launched the Xcent compact sedan in the Indian market, tightening further screws on Maruti Suzuki. The launch onslaught still has not stopped as Hyundai launched i20 Elite in 2014, almost a year after the Grand i10 was introduced.
Maruti Suzuki has been a little nerve-wrecked following the rise of Hyundai and Honda. A direct repercussion of this was the fact that Mayank Pareek, a long running executive and top official at Maruti Suzuki, has left the firm just ahead of the launch of Ciaz. According to a report by DNA, the firm is looking for fresh ideas and warding off competition from Hyundai and Honda. "Pareek has been delegating his responsibilities to others for the past 10-12 days now. He also did not participate in the recently held SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) convention held in Delhi last week," a source was quoted as saying.
An industry expert, speaking to DNA, said, "This is a critical time for Maruti Suzuki as the competition from international players is increasing. Companies are increasing capacities and launching more products. Pareek's expertise would have helped Maruti Suzuki in maintaining its leadership."
If these indicators are not enough then none would be to establish a possible paradigm shift in the future of Indian passenger car market. Hyundai is expanding thoroughly and in order to facilitate upcoming launches, a second plant is expected to be established in the near future. Though the author has completely discounted Maruti Suzuki in this piece, by no means is it going to be easy for Hyundai to overtake India’s most trusted brand anytime soon. However, with i25 and another compact Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) from Hyundai on their way to Indian market,
