Hyundai Motor India Limited

Indian car History

In India till 1980, there were only two automobile manufactures i.e. Hindustan Motors and Fiat. The cars that these companies produced were of poor technology, inferior quality and high prices.

In 1980 Indian government allowed Suzuki motors to collaborate with Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL). MUL launched small and affordable car "Maruti 800" at a price of Rs. 40,000/- (i.e. £740) and this fuelled the growth of automobile industry in India.

But in 1993, the government of India de-licensed the automobile industry and allowed the entry of domestic and foreign car manufactures.

Hyundai's Entry in India

Hyundai Motors is a Korea based Hyundai Motor Company. In India, Hyundai Motors is the second largest car manufacturer. It has eight passenger car models currently in Indian market i.e. in the small segment it has the Santro, Eon, i10 and i20 models, in the midsize segment the Accent and the Verna models, in the luxury segment Sonata and in the SUV segments the Santa Fe models.

Hyundai Motors currently exports its cars to 120 countries across Europe, South Africa, Middle East, Latin America and the Asia Pacific. Hyundai Motors has been the only company in India which number one exporter for seven years in row.

Since Hyundai Motors setup in to India, it dominated automobile market. Hyundai Motors' growth has been driven by volume-oriented revenues coupled with technological soundness and superior designs.

Before Hyundai Motors entered Indian car market, it closely studied the industry for more than a year. The company talked to vendors, dealers and customers to get the knowledge of the Indian market. The company conducted surveys where customers were asked to rank their preferences of cars they like and how they want the pricing to be.

The following are the reasons for Hyundai's success in capturing Indian market are as follows:

* Price and features

Hyundai conducted surveys where customers were asked to rank their preferences of cars they like and how they want the pricing to be. They understood that all the cars that were available in Indian market were overpriced. So they came up with a new small segment car which was a brand new product for Indian market and had better features than the "Zen" from Maruti Suzuki. Hyundai added special features like Air-condition, central locking, power steering and power windows in Santro which was attractive to the customers whereas Zen from Maruti Suzuki didn't provide these features in its model.

* Quality product

People in India were buying cars but they didn't had the choice of choosing a better car which will fulfil their needs .i.e. customers wanted a car which is stylish