Hyundai Motor India (HMI), which is the second-largest carmaker in the country and clocked sales of 50,201 units in April 2024, while registering a 1 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth (April 2023: 49,701), says that its best-selling model – Hyundai Creta SUV – is commanding over 50 percent of its total order book.
The facelifted Creta, which was introduced in the domestic market earlier this year in January, currently sees pending bookings of around 35,000 units – constituting over half of the company’s total order book, which currently stands at 70,000 units by end-April 2024. HMI already garnered over 100,000 bookings of the refreshed Creta in three months.
According to Tarun Garg, COO, HMI, the Creta has registered a 12.5 percent YoY growth last month to average monthly sales of over 15,000 units, with the SUV’s April 2024 sales being pegged at 15,447 units.
“A 12.5 percent YoY growth in the domestic market is on top of a similar growth registered last year. Therefore, the kind of demand the Creta has been able to generate in the domestic market is astounding, and Creta is the flagbearer of the growing SUV demand in the country,” Garg said in a virtual media interaction.
SUV penetration deepens to 67%
SUV penetration in HMI’s portfolio deepened to 67 percent or roughly 35,140 units out of its total volumes of 50,201 units in April 2024. Of this, HMI sold 15,447 units of the Creta, 9,122 units of the Venue, and 7,756 units of the Exter micro-SUV last month. “India is moving at a much faster rate both in aspirations and disposable incomes, and the growing trend towards SUVs could be a sign of things to come,” Garg pointed out.
Moreover, the company is also witnessing an equilibrium in SUV penetration in both rural and urban markets, with both registering a 67 percent contribution from Hyundai’s key SUV models – Creta, Venue, Exter, and Alcazar. “The growing aspirations, disposable incomes, and minimising preference differences between customers of the two markets, are the key drivers towards this phenomenon. While aspirations continue to improve in rural India, there are significant advancements in road infrastructure that are further driving rural growth,” Garg explained.
While Hyundai Motor India is presently sitting at an inventory of 43,000 units or about 22 days, the industry inventory is estimated to be at 360,000 units by end-April 2024. “We are sticking to 22 days of inventory, which is the optimal level, while the industry is sitting at an inventory of 6 weeks. We will continue to maintain this level of inventory going forward,” he added.
Despite a healthy order book, HMI is confident of fulfilling its pending bookings swiftly owing to an improved supply chain situation, particularly with respect to chip supplies. The company says that its 1 percent YoY growth in April 2024 is in line with the projections of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), which has estimated a low-single-digit growth rate for the passenger vehicle segment in FY25.
“We can clearly see the estimation panning out, and the low growth rate can be attributed to the high-base-year effect of the last two years catching up, not because of any market slowdown,” Garg signed off.
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SUVs contribute 67% to Hyundai India’s sales of 50,201 units in April
