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Hyundai Motor, which will complete the second decade of operation in India this year, is set to revamp its corporate image from a mass market to a modern premium brand OEM.
It will mark the completion of 20 years with the launch of a special, limited edition of the family sedan Xcent, in April, and the Grand i10 in May.
Apart from upgraded features, customers will save up to 40 per cent in value.
Later this year, it will also the launch a high-end SUV the Tucson and the premium sedan Elantra in October.
The two decades also mark the evolution of the Indian passenger car segment from a predominantly entry level market to a more demanding one looking for value added products.
Young Kee Koo, Managing Director, Hyundai Motor India, told BusinessLine , “By 2018, we will change our corporate image, change service and showroom, and improve service quality.”
Its network of 1,150 service centres will go up to 1,300 this year covering more than 100 cities.
A long time back, the basic, entry level product accounted for about 70 per cent of the market, he said.
But the entry level segment is less than five per cent now.
It is the compact, luxury segment such as the Grand i10 and the i20 that account for over 55 per cent of the market.
India has emerged the third largest market for Hyundai after China and the US.
Sales volume upHyundai India’s sales in 2015 were 6.43 lakh units, including exports of 1.67 lakh units.
The domestic sales of 4.76 lakh units were higher in terms of volume in entire Europe, a market of over 29 countries, he said.
Creta makes a markOne of the biggest contributors to volume is the Creta, the compact SUV launched last July. It sells about 7,000-8,000 units a month and customers wait around four months. The company is increasing production volumes from June 1 to about 13,000 – with 3,000 for the export markets. Waiting time will be cut by half, he said.
Hyundai plans to launch the Creta in Russia by July.
Before Creta, the market for SUV segment was less than 10 per cent and now it is 15 per cent, he said.
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