New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India was once a strong No. 2 in India’s car market, right behind the market leader Maruti Suzuki. However, the job isn’t as secure as it once was. In the earlier financial year (FY26), Hyundai has even slipped down to fourth position behind Maruti, Mahindra and Tata Motors.
The numbers don’t lie. Domestic sales declined by nearly 2% to reach nearly 5.85 lakh units for Hyundai. Mahindra also had an impressive year with sales rising by about 20% to nearly 6.6 lakh SUVs that year. Tata Motors’ sales had also picked up momentum at 6.25 lakh vehicles, rising by around 14%. The competition has been going neck-in and neck with Hyundai, primarily because people in this country are increasingly turning towards SUVs and Mahindra and Tata are bringing in numerous new and popular models in the segment.
For years, Hyundai’s market share has been decreasing. It was way over 17% several years ago but has decreased to about 12% now. Even though the company’s popular Creta SUV continued to sell briskly, a sluggish pace of new car sales hurt sales for the entire year, the company said.
In response to that, Hyundai isn’t taking any time to sit on its hands. The company has budgeted a huge investment of approximately Rs 7,500 crore for the upcoming financial year, and is expected to bring new models to the market such as an electric SUV for mass-market customers to regain the trust of the customer base. But there has been some improvement too, and earlier in this year, Hyundai briefly took over from Mahindra in terms of monthly retail sales due to buoyant orders for the range of SUVs and festive-season shopping.
Despite this, things are rocky on the road ahead. Mahindra and Tata are not only investing extensively but are also expanding rapidly, making it a true three-way competition for India’s second position. But if Hyundai can make a comeback on its former glory depends on the pace at which its new rides will arrive and how favorable the Indian market will be in the coming months.
