From Santro to Creta, Hyundai completes 25 years in India with 9 mln cars sold

Hyundai Motor India on Wednesday completed 25 years of being present in the country and informed it had sold over nine million units since its inception here. From the days of Santro emerging as a viable alternative to the 800 from Maruti Suzuki to the likes of Creta, Verna, Venue and Grand i20, the Koreans have come a fair distance to become the country's second-largest car maker and the largest exporter of cars here.

The foundation stone for Hyundai's manufacturing facility at Sriperumbudur near Chennai was laid on May 6 of 1996. Santro, with its MPFI engine, was the product that would eventually kickstart the company's foray into a market that was still in a relatively nascent stage with limited options for buyers. Other products like the i20, Getz, Accent and more would be added to the lineup in the subsequent years.

While Hyundai has since diversified into several other passenger vehicle segments, including SUVs, the company has managed to also expand its sales -1,154 outlets and post-sales - 1,298 outlets, network. With products like Creta, Venue, Verna, Aura, i20, Grand i20 NIOS and Tuscson in its current lineup, the car maker managed to have a market share of 17.4% in calendar year 2020. "Today, it gives us immense pride to have come this far together, developing a sustainable and thriving ecosystem leading to collective evolution of the Indian automotive industry," said SS Kim, MD and CEO at Hyundai Motor India

Hyundai has so far invested over $ 4 billion in India and is exporting its products from here to 88 countries. From half a million units exported in 2008, the company has taken this figure up to three million.

But while Hyundai has had a fan following, it is Maruti that has maintained its stranglehold on the car market for several decades now. There are also newer players like Kia in the fray who are mounting a strong challenge while the likes of Tata Motors and Mahindra are reinventing themselves to emerge stronger.