The Hindu Business Line : Hyundai too joins compact car race

Mr H.W. Park, Managing Director and CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, and Mr Arvind Saxena, Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales), at a press conference in Chennai on Tuesday. - Bijoy Ghosh

Our Bureau

Chennai, Nov. 17 Hyundai Motor India has said that it will continue to be aggressive with its product launches to protect and grow its market share, in the face of increasing launches in the compact car space in the country.

The company’s newly-appointed Managing Director and CEO, Mr Han Woo Park, and Senior Vice-President – Marketing and Sales, Mr Arvind Saxena, said at a press conference here on Tuesday that the company had always been aggressive in introducing products and that it would continue to do that.

Hyundai Motor India, Mr Park said, would cover more parts of the country with its dealer network and strengthen its brands. Key to its strategy to grow in the domestic market would be the launch of a car smaller than the Santro, Hyundai’s best-selling entry-level compact car that is now being developed in Korea. The car would be smaller than the Santro in terms of engine displacement and priced lower too, Mr Park said.

Mr Saxena, however, added that the new car would not be a Nano.

Hyundai Motor India sees a pick up in exports relative to last year. The company expects to end the year with exports of 2.70 lakh cars compared with 2.45 lakh cars last year, according to Mr Saxena.

“There is a pick up in fundamental demand,” he said, drawing a contrast with the demand spurred by reduction in excise duty for cars that was announced last December as part of Government’s stimulus package.

India, however, remains a major small car market. Small cars constitute 78 per cent of the market.He said there was no firm decision as yet on whether and when to shift production of the i20 cars to another manufacturing facility, perhaps the one in Turkey. At present, the i20s are made at Chennai. The thinking towards the shift was triggered by a number of factors such as proximity to Europe, fiscal benefits that come when Turkey joins the European Union and labour unrest in Hyundai’s Sriperumbudur (Chennai) plant.

Mr Park told the press conference that he expects no labour-related issues to trouble the company. He said that a wage agreement, valid for the next three years, has been signed and a majority of the (1,650) workers are on board.

However, only a ‘minority group’ is creating problems, Mr Park said. He said that while he would keep open all channels of communication with the group, there will be no compromise with the group. Mr Park said that a majority of workers were hardworking people and he would “protect their interests”.

Mr Saxena said the company would showcase the Genesis, its mid-size premium car in the US, at the Delhi auto expo in January, besides other products. Hyundai Motor India did not plan to launch the car in India.