Hyundai aims to overtake Maruti by 2020

Hyundai Motor India, the country's second-largest carmaker, has set an ambitious target to overtake Maruti Suzuki and take leadership position in the compact car market by the end of this decade by launching a number of vehicles.

C H Han, chief coordinator of Hyundai Motor India, confirmed to ET that the South Korean parent has asked for leadership position in India, "if not in numbers but definitely to be the most-loved brand". He declined to share any target sales or market share numbers.

The world's fifth largest carmaker will launch three compact cars in India over the next 18 months — the all new global hatchback Grand i10 with a 1.1 litre diesel engine, which will take on Maruti Suzuki Swift, Eon 1 litre to take on Alto K10 and the next generation i20 next year. The compact small car segment constituted 52% of the overall passenger vehicle market in the country with sales of 1.41 million cars in FY13. Maruti Suzuki accounted for almost half of it with a market share of about 48%, while Hyundai was a distant runner up with 22% share. 

In the first quarter of the current fiscal, however, the South Korean carmaker managed increase its market share to 25%. And it expects the new cars to push this up in the coming months. "We will continuously introduce one or two new models every year. In the small car space, we should have products in every segment, and it should be one of the best," Han said. "We are also very strong in bigger car segment already, that's why I think we have a bright future in India and we will continue to build our market share," he added.

Hyundai aims to overtake Maruti, take leadership position in Indian compact car market Hyundai has lined up 8-10 launches in the next three to four years. It will drive in a sub-4 metre sedan in the second half of 2014, followed by a multi-purpose vehicle to take on Maruti's Ertiga and a compact SUV positioned between Ford EcoSport and Renault Duster in 2015-16. It's also exploring the potential to launch its flagship saloon Genesis in India. Industry experts, however, say it won't be an easy ride to chase down Maruti Suzuki.

"Hyundai definitely will eat into Maruti Suzuki's share, but the gap is so large that it is highly unlikely that Hyundai can overtake Maruti.... Not in the next 5-7 years at least," an automobile consultant said. "Maruti Suzuki on its part is not sitting still. The company is aggressively building its portfolio of diesel cars and bigger cars as well. The fact that Maruti has regained some lost market share in the recent past clearly underlines the strong affinity the brand enjoys today," added the person who wished not to be named. Puneet Gupta, associate director at market research and sales forecasting firm IHS Automotive, said Hyundai will be a strong number two in the country as it is the only multinational carmaker to have understood the Indian market well.

Related: Hyundai Grand i10 to re-ignite small car battle