Creta gives Hyundai India profit margin a boost

The Hyundai Creta has become the clear leader of the lucrative compact crossover segment.In a recent interview, Hyundai India’s CEO YK Koo has revealed that the Creta compact crossover has helped increase the brand’s average price tag per unit from INR 3-4 lakhs to INR 7 lakhs thereby improving the profit margin per unit. Though the Indian subsidiary is not as profitable as Hyundai’s other leading subsidiaries, over the course of time, the automaker has managed to establish itself as a premium brand in the sub-continent.

The biggest segment in India is the price-sensitive small car space where the profit margins are pretty thin. So, the Hyundai Creta’s stellar sales performance in the premium segment comes as a huge boost to the automaker’s financial wellness. The Creta also played a major role in Hyundai India’s growth of 16% last year when the industry grew only by 8%. The market share also increased by 1% to 17.3% last year.

Moving forward, the CEO is confident of the SUV segment’s potential. Last year, 13% of Hyundai India’s sales came from SUVs and in the first 3-4 months of this year, the proportion has already increased to 16%. The car maker is estimating the figure to reach 20% by the end of this year.
The Tuscon premium crossover will be entering India later this year to take advantage of this trend.

This article has first appeared in Rushlane.com