Hyundai and Kia sales strong in India, the No.3 global market

Hyundai Motor Co.’s Creta [Photo provided by Hyundai Motor]

South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Corp. have shown strong sales in India, the world’s third-largest automobile market, by unveiling various lineups.

According to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Monday, Hyundai Motor and Kia sold a total of 295,359 units in India between January and April, up 15.5 percent from a year earlier.

Hyundai Motor’s sales in India rose for 12 straight months from last May to 197,408 units, 11.7 percent from a year ago. Kia sold 97,950 vehicles, 23.9 percent more a year earlier, rising for 14 consecutive months from last January.

Their combined Indian sales are projected to be the largest on record, making this year the fourth consecutive year of growth since 2019.

The Indian auto industry has rapidly grown since 2021 as the spread of Covid has slowed.

The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) found that the Indian market grew 26.7 percent on year to 4.76 million units last year to become the world‘s third-largest automobile market, overtaking Japan with 4.2 million units.

Hyundai Motor and Kia had 21.1 percent of the market share last year, which climbed to 21.7 percent as of April.

The Korean automakers have brought several models to their lineups to meet consumers’ demand despite robust supplies of local rivals, such as Tata Motors.

Hyundai Motor Co.’s Verna [Photo provided by Hyundai Motor]

Hyundai Motor sold 8,798 units of its Verna compact sedan to become one of the top-selling models until April, with Creta being sold 53,670 units and Tucson 1,809 units. Creta, designed to target local Indian customers, has ranked as the most popular mid-sized sport utility vehicle until last year since 2016, the second year of its launch.

Hyundai Motor’s Verna sales reached 41,101 units and Kia’s Sonet 37,518 units, becoming the third and fourth best sellers. KIa’s multi-purpose vehicle Carens, which won the vehicle of the year in India this year, became India’s No.2 best-selling model with sales of 26,357 units.

The strong market share held by Hyundai Motor and Kia was driven by the high popularity of their mid-sized and compact-sized SUVs, the highest segment of the country’s automotive industry. Hyundai Motor has 54.1 percent of the market share and Kia 26.1 percent.

Hyundai Motor and Kia aim to sell 595,000 and 283,000 units in India this year, respectively. If sales continue to grow at the current pace, their sales could surpass 1 million units per year in two to three years, according to industry insiders.

Hyundai Motor unveiled and started pre-sale of its latest micro SUV model Exter in India on May 8. “The new model will be preferred by young drivers in the country as it boasts a dynamic vibe with features of in-vehicle infotainment,” said an unnamed official from the company.