Thursday, August 30, 2012

“THERE WILL BE A MARGINAL FALL IN EXPORTS THIS YEAR.”

H. W. Park, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motors India talks to B&E on the present challenges – both internal and external – and the plans of his company for both the domestic and export markets

There is no denying the fact that till date the only two companies that have managed to give Maruti Suzuki some sleepless nights on the home turf have been Hyundai (with its Santro model launched in September 1998) and Daewoo (with its Matiz model launched in 1999). While Daewoo had to bow out due to bankruptcy-related issue, Hyundai has grown in stature as a threat to the market leader, chipping away at Maruti’s market share over the past decade. For Hyundai, the Indian episode started with the Santro, and over time the company moved into all the other major segments as well. But despite the best efforts of the company, thick competition threatens Hyundai’s stand as the second largest car-seller in the domestic circuit. H. W. Park, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motors India, in an exclusive interview with B&E, talks about production and labour-related issues and the road ahead for Hyundai.

B&E: The company recently clocked a cumulative sales volume of 30 lakh units in the Indian market. It took Hyundai a little over a decade to achieve this milestone. How have your eight years with Hyundai India been so far?
H. W. Park (HWP): The journey with the Indian subsidiary has been very exciting. India as a region has emerged as the largest export base for our small cars. In fact, the cars made out of Chennai can be seen across five continents now. However, all this was only possible due to our total commitment to the Indian market and the faith that our customers put in us. We will continue to build Hyundai as a brand in the market and bring in the best of products and technology.

B&E: Ever since Hyundai started operations in India, its export plans have been very bullish. Can you throw some light on your targets for this year?
HWP: This year, we will be exporting close to 250,000 to 255,000 units. We exported close to 270,000 units last year, but there will be a marginal fall in exports this year.

B&E: Fall in exports you said... So do we put the blame on the fall in demand in the European market?
HWP: As compared to last year, wherein the European government offered scrappage deals to the consumers, the demand has surely gone down in the region. In fact, due to the scrappage scheme, the demand was very high last year, but this year, it is back to normal.

B&E: Can you elaborate on the targets that the company has in mind for the domestic market this year?
HWP: We plan to sell close to 340,000 units in the Indian market this year. Last year, we sold close to 290,000 units. So, we are looking forward to a will be a healthy growth of in excess of 17% for the company.

B&E: The industry is excited about the much-awaited 800cc car that will be positioned below the Santro (expected to debut in 2012). What is the development on the same?
HWP: We are currently in the development stage of the model and it is going very well. However, I can’t comment on the time frame of the launch in the Indian market

B&E: It has also been reported that the company is working on a plan to launch the smaller engine i.e. 1000cc for i10 for the local market. Your comments...
HWP: We already have 1000cc engines used in the i10s that we are exporting. But as of now, we do not have any plan to launch the smaller engine for the Indian consumer as we already have a lot of volume coming in from the currently selling 1.2L model.


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posted by Editorial at 3:50 PM