Hyundai Motor Company has announced a 3.7% decrease in its global sales from a year earlier, with a total of 343,824 units sold in September 2024. The company sold 288,019 units outside of Korea, down 5% compared to September 2023. In Korea, Hyundai Motor sold 55,805 units last month, an increase of 3.5% compared to September 2023.
The Korean auto major also sold over 17,000 electric vehicles (EVs) worldwide in September, maintaining its EV sales momentum and solidifying its electrification leadership in the global market.
Hyundai Motor’s global sales from January to September of 2024 were down 1.6% compared with the same period last year. Data: Hyundai Motor
To cope with business uncertainties, Hyundai Motor states that it “is strengthening its production and sales to meet demand and respond flexibly to changes in regional markets.”
As announced at the recent CEO Investor Day in Korea, the company also plans to increase profitability by diversifying its hybrid and EV lineups, including the Inster, its new sub-compact EV, and Ioniq models. The company will also continue to improve its regional and product mix, optimize production, and enhance its product mix with more SUVs and luxury models.
Hyundai Motor India’s share of Hyundai’s global sales has steadily increased – from 12% in CY2018 to 14.27% in CY2023, and now to nearly 15% in the first nine months of CY2024.
India: a key global growth market for Hyundai
The Indian car and SUV market continues to be a key contributor to Hyundai Motor Group and is the second-best performing global market for the Korean chaebol after the home market of South Korea.
In CY2023, Hyundai Motor India, with its best-ever annual sales of 602,111 units in the domestic market, contributed to 14.27% of Hyundai’s global sales, marginally up from the 14% in CY2022 (552,511 units of 39,44,579 global sales). Industry wholesales data reveals that Hyundai Motor India’s share of Hyundai’s global sales has steadily increased over the years – from 12% in CY2018 to 14.27% in CY2023, and now to nearly 15% in the first nine months of CY2024.
Between January and September 2024, Hyundai Motor India has dispatched a total of 459,407 passenger vehicles, up 1% YoY (January-September 2023: 454,782 units).
India, which is currently one of the world’s most promising automotive markets, ranking third behind China and the US, is witnessing a massive boom in demand for utility vehicles, particularly SUVs. In FY2024, UVs accounted for 60 percent – 2.52 million units – of the record 4.21 million passenger vehicles sold.
Hyundai Motor India currently retails 10 vehicles comprising four cars (Grand i10 Nios, i20, Aura and Verna) and six SUVs (Creta, Venue, Exter, Alcazar, Tucson, Ioniq 5). Demand for the company’s overall passenger vehicle range continues to be powered by the Creta midsize SUV and the recently launched Exter compact SUV. Like the other leading PV makers in India, SUVs are the key growth drivers for Hyundai. In FY2024, Hyundai sold 388,725 UVs, up 29% YoY with the Creta (162,773 units), Venue (128,897 units) and Exter (71,299 units) all in the Top 15 UVs chart for last fiscal.
Revving up for the future with expanded capacity and new models
Hyundai Motor India, which has had Tata Motors and, more recently, Mahindra & Mahindra, hot on its heels, is fast upping the ante both to protect its turn and also to achieve new growth. The company, whose existing 830,000 units per annum manufacturing capacity at its plants in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu is stretched to accommodate growing domestic and export market demand for its products, completed the acquisition of GM’s plant in Talegaon, Maharashtra in January 2024.
Hyundai has committed to invest Rs 6,000 crore in Maharashtra to upgrade and refurbish the Talegaon plant, which had a production capacity of 130,000 units. The first product to roll out of the Talegaon plant will be an all-new SUV – a petrol-hybrid – billed to be positioned above the Alcazar in the automaker’s product portfolio.
Hyundai, which expects the Talegaon plant to begin operations sometime in 2025, will see its cumulative production capacity expand to close to a million units and further to 1.07 million when the Pune facility is fully operational.
Hyundai has also committed a mega investment of Rs 26,000 crore in Tamil Nadu over a decade, which will go towards new product development, particularly EVs, and also fresh production capacity. The first of Hyundai’s upcoming four EVs for India – the Creta EV – is slated for a global reveal and launch in January 2025, with production starting in December this year.
India’s passenger vehicle market is expected to exceed 7 million units by 2030. That’s reason enough why the Hyundai Motor Group is pressing the accelerator to achieve speedier growth through its two vehicle manufacturing arms – Hyundai Motor India and Kia India. Mid-October will see Hyundai Motor India launch its mega Rs 25,000 crore IPO, the largest in the Indian equity market after LIC, and 28 years after the company began operations. Clearly, India is big news for this Korean auto major and looks to get bigger in its global scheme of things .
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