Hyundai, India's second largest car maker, would look at further consolidation of its brand during the World Cup where it is the International Cricket Council's official car partner.

While the company's cars will be used through the tourney as the mode of transport for players and officials, there will be other off-the-field initiatives to catch the fancy of customers. This will include live screening of matches at malls in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

At dealership levels, there will be merchandise on offer as well as tickets to be had from contests. Incidentally, Delhi's new T3 airport will also have on display Hyundai's Santa Fe and Sonata models during the duration of the tournament.

With the whole of India glued to the World Cup for the next 45 days, the spin-offs are expected to be substantial for the company in terms of brand association, recall and building a stronger bond with the customer. This is especially relevant given that it is planning to launch “at least a couple of interesting products” next fiscal.

Last month, Hyundai also made public its new brand slogan, “New Thinking. New Possibilities” at the Detroit Motor Show where the core is to think “modern premium” for future products. Simply put, the company's new goal is to offer customers high-quality features at affordable prices.

“Hyundai is not just a company that makes cars. Hyundai is a company that creates new possibilities,” Mr Euisun Chung, Vice-Chairman, had said at the Detroit show. While this is the global vision of the world's fifth largest carmaker, it holds equally true for India where Hyundai has been Maruti's strongest challenger for over a decade now.

“India is a huge market with the largest number of young buyers. When they can get fancy bikes at competitive prices, they would naturally want this in cars too,” sources said.

All eyes are now on the sub-Rs 3 lakh HA which is scheduled to debut in the second half of 2011-12. While the company has been tight-lipped on the car, the buzz in industry circles is that its “mind-blowing design” is among its most attractive features.

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