Hyundai Motor India believes that setting the benchmark is more important than having the first mover advantage.
Tarun Garg, Chief Operating Officer, drove home this point during the Exter launch event while responding to a query that the Hyundai offering was now a challenger to the Tata Punch. He added that Exter, with its appealing design language and loaded features, would not only help the company grab share from rivals but also expand the segment.
Garg was confident that Exter would help Hyundai weave the same magic as it did with Verna. At that point in time, the company had set itself a target of doubling its sales and has apparently met this objective comfortably.
With Exter, Hyundai is keen on increasing its SUV sales share from 54% to 60% in the next six months. According to Garg, the long list of features will fuel Exter’s growth by drawing more customers. Largely targeted at ‘Gen MZ’, the SUV has some first-in-the-segment options such as dashcam with 2.31-inch display, Hyundai Blue Link with 60 connected features and the sunroof.
Garg added that 32% of the company’s sales are driven by models with connected features and 50% with the sunroof. Nearly 36% of Verna customers opt for the trim level with ADAS features while models priced above INR 10 lakh account for 50% of sales. Finally, 20% of the volumes are for higher trim levels.
In the case of Exter, he said it was attractively priced with loads of features and would attract customers seeking an SUV priced under INR 10 lakh. The other Hyundai offerings in this price bracket are the Grand i10 Nios and Aura. While Exter could cannibalise some numbers of the Grand i10, “it would be a 100 units here or there which won’t make much of a difference as customers are still holding on to the Hyundai brand”.
SUV-Focused Approach
Exter is the second SUV launch this calendar after the Ioniq 5 where the company had targeted sales of 500 units in 2023 but met this target in just five months of the launch. Between April and June of this year, its market share of SUVs has grown to 54%.
Exter, Hyundai’s eighth SUV model in its lineup across six segments, is expected to increase its SUV share to 60% by the end of this calendar. The company hopes to close CY23 with sales of 592,000 units, up from 552,511 units achieved last year.
While SUVs continue to do well, Garg said hatchbacks were still relevant given that they take up a million units of the total four million passenger vehicles sold. As Hyundai now gears up for more electric vehicles, these will largely be in the SUV form.
At present, when it comes to fuel preferences, the company’s entry level segment is seeing strong demand for petrol and CNG vehicles. Nearly 75% of Aura sales are taken up by CNG models while this is 20% for the Grand i10 Nios as well as for the Exter bookings thus far.
As for the midsize sedan and subcompact SUV segments, there is more traction for petrol and turbo petrol units. The turbo-petrol-DCT combinations account for nearly 20% and 25-30% of Verna and Venue volumes respectively.
The bigger SUVs continue to see good demand for diesel powertrains which are sought after for long drives. Garg said diesel contributes to 20% of overall sales with the SUV charge led by Tucson topping the list with 70% followed by Alcazar at 60% and finally Creta with 45%.
With Exter’s target group in the 18-30 years age group, Hyundai has on-boarded Hardik Panya, the cricketing allrounder, as its brand ambassador. Shah Rukh Khan has been the face of the company for over 25 years now but with Pandya, the idea is to showcase the all-round capabilities of the SUV.
Beyond Pandya, Hyundai had already roped in Smriti Mandhana, one of the prolific women cricketers as well as Aditi Ashok, the prominent golfer, as brand ambassadors. Garg said Hyundai Motor India wanted to be associated with these stars of India along with brands like IIFA (International Indian Film Academy Awards).
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