Hyundai to up compact sports, MUV presence India; plans to introduce flagship Grand i10

NEW DELHI: South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor is eying India’s lucrative compact sports and multi-utility vehicles segments, and plans to introduce compact cars under its flagship Grand i10 hatchback to improve its market share.
With 17% market share, Hyundai is India’s No.2 carmaker after Maruti Suzuki. Four of its vehicles are in the list of top 10 selling passenger cars in India.The company will start delivery of its much-awaited SUV, Creta, to customers after the vehicle’s launch on Tuesday.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd’s managing director and chief executive Bo Shin Seo said the company is reinforcing its local research and development operations in Hyderabad to develop India-specific cars that will have wider appeal.
"India is one of the biggest potential markets for our parent, Hyundai Motor Company. India operations wants to hike its contribution beyond the current 14.5% to global sales, for which we are developing new cars catering to Asia’s second largest passenger vehicle market," Seo told ET. In 2014-15, Hyundai produced 615,000 cars from its twin plants in Chennai. Of this, over 420,000 were sold in the domestic market.