Hyundai to up market share in Indian rural areas

New Delhi: Korean car major Hyundai is looking to tap new customers in rural areas and corporate segment to increase its market share in the Indian automobile market. The company’s wholly-owned arm Hyundai Motor India, which will make the global launch of its all new premium hatchback Elite i20 this month, also plans to introduce a new model each year in the segment where it is not present.

“The idea is to increase volume in the domestic market and increasing our market share is top priority. For that we will be looking to tap new customers segments in the rural market and through corporate sales,” HMIL senior VP Rakesh Srivastava told reporters. This, he said, is part of the company’s strategy of launching new products, bringing refreshes of existing models and tapping new consumer segments in order to enhance its market share in the domestic market.

In the January-July period of 2014, the company sold 2,35,432 cars in India, translating into a market share of 21.6 per cent, Mr Srivastava said, adding that during the same period last year, the company’s market share was 20.4 per cent. The company also plans to enter the compact SUV segment, which is one of the fastest growing in India, and the MPV segment.