Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL), the subsidiary of the South Korean car maker Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), has suffered a decline in its domestic sales in the month of August. However, the company posted a rise in its exports in the same month. India's second-largest automobile manufacturer, Hyundai, has reported a downfall of 6.7 % in its domestic sales in the past month. In August 2010, the company sold 28,601 vehicles, which came down to 26,677 cars this August. According to Mr. Arvind Saxena, Director (Marketing and Sales), HMIL, “The market continues to be tough with no signs of recovery in the immediate future. The rising fuel prices and interest rates have been instrumental in this sluggish market trend”.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), had predicted in July, that the hike in the interest rates declared by RBI, could hit sales of passenger vehicles. At the time, the automobile industry was already under pressure owing to high fuel prices as well as high commodity prices. All these factors made buying and owning cars even more costly affair for the consumers. Many buyers postponed or kept their car purchasing plans on hold. Consequently, SIAM had scaled down its forecast of sales of passenger vehicles for this year to 10 - 12 % from the 16% - 18 %.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) has, however posted a growth in its exports in August 2011. The company shipped 22,032 vehicles in August 2010, which has increased to 24,353 units this August. This increase of 10.5 % helped the company to post a growth in its overall sales from 50,633 units last August to 51,030 cars in the past month. Consequently, India's largest passenger car exporter, Hyundai, managed to achieve a marginal growth of about 1% in its net sales. It must be noted that the company had, in February 2010, achieved the fastest export of 10 lac cars in less than a decade.
In August 2011, India's top three car manufacturers, namely Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Hyundai Motor India Ltd. and Tata Motors Ltd., all had suffered a downfall in sales (especially domestic) of their passenger cars. These three companies together constitute almost 60% of the total car market. Their cumulative sales came down by as much as 17.6%, from the same month last year. However, being the largest passenger vehicle exporter of the country helped HMIL's cause with the company posting a growth in sales, even though a marginal one.
The company is planning to unveil an entry level small car, speculatively called the Eon, which might be presented at the upcoming Auto Expo in January 2012. This small car will also help the company in gaining domestic sales because of the high demand for small cars in the Indian market. This segment has the largest volumes of sales, and thus is one of the most profitable segments. Until then, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. is hoping for the upcoming festive season to bring in more domestic sales.
