Hyundai Motor India has registered wholesales of 50,701 units, which constitutes flat year-on-year sales growth of just 0.39% (July 2022: 50,500 units). When compared on a month-on-month basis, the Korean carmaker’s July domestic market sales are up 1.39% (June 2023: 50,001 units).
Calendar-year-wise, the Chennai-based car and SUV manufacturer has recorded monthly sales of 50,000 units for the fourth time in the year to date, after January (50,106 units), March (50,600 units), June (50,011 units) and July (50,701 units).
Cumulative sales for the first four months of FY2024 at 199,004 units are up 7% year on year (APril-July 2022: 185,795 units). July 10 saw Hyundai launch the Exter mini-SUV at an aggressive price of Rs 599,900 and had received over 11,000 bookings till July 10.
While the Creta remains boss of the midsize SUV market, Hyundai is banking on the aggressively priced Exter mini-SUV to outpunch the Tata Punch.
Hyundai Motor India, which continues to see its No. 2 position under pressure from a hard-charging Tata Motors, is banking on the Exter to protect its turf and has targeted overall domestic market sales of around 600,000 units in CY2022. Achieving this goal will translate into 8.6% year-on-year growth considering Hyundai had recorded its best-ever calendar year sales of 552,511 units in CY2022. This targeted 8% growth is a tad better than the expected Indian passenger vehicle industry growth of 5-7% in FY2024 due to the high year-ago base when PV sales hit a record 3.89 million units.
The Hyundai Creta continues to be the company’s best-seller. The Creta, which is also the best-selling midsize SUV in India, recently surpassed the 900,000-unit sales milestone in the domestic market, eight years after launch. In fact, it is hard on the heels of the country’s best-selling SUV, the Tata Nexon. At the end of June 2023 and for Q1 FY2024, at 43,082 units, the Creta was just 170 units behind the Tata Nexon (43,252 units).
Commenting on the July 2023 sales numbers, Mr. Tarun Garg, COO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, “Our domestic July sales volume of 50,000-plus units is backed by a strong SUV portfolio. This has been bolstered by the addition of Hyundai Exter to an already strong SUV line-up led by the Creta, Venue, Venue N-Line, Tucson, Alcazar, Kona Electric and the Ioniq 5 e-SUV. With the semiconductor supply issues more or less behind us, we are all geared up for the upcoming festive season in India starting with Onam in Kerala.”