Insatiable Hyundai Motor aspires to lead India with SUVs, EVs

Hyundai Motor Group must become “the first mover” in India, which has emerged as the next fierce battlefield for global car makers after the country rose to the world’s No. 3 auto market last year, urged the South Korean auto giant’s chief during his two-day trip to India this week.

Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Euisun has visited India for the first time in four years, and it was also his first trip to the country since his inauguration as chairman in 2020.

His visit comes after the Korean car giant became the No. 2 auto seller with a 21.1% share in India in 2022 after selling its record of 807,067 units there.

The world’s most populous country also joined the global top 3 auto market club last year after 4.76 million vehicles were sold there, of which 3.80 million were passenger cars. By 2030, more than 5 million passenger cars are projected to be sold in the country, according to Hyundai Motor.

China and the US are the world's first- and second-largest auto markets, respectively. 

The Indian government has also vowed to ensure EVs make up 30% of its entire auto shipments by 2030, a move that has triggered EV makers from across the world including Tesla Inc. to flock to the country with generous investment plans.

Chung’s visit to India, which comes at such a critical time, underscores the Korean carmaker’s aspiration to distance itself from latecomers while striving to snatch the crown from the current market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the Indian subsidiary of Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor Corp., with the biggest share of 41.3%.  

BETTING ON SUVS AND EVS

To lead the market, Hyundai Motor Co. will roll out more localized sport utility vehicle models and five new electric vehicle models by 2032 in India, while its sibling Kia Corp. plans to start producing India-tailored compact EVs in 2025 and supplying purpose-built vehicles in phases.

The Korean auto group forecast SUVs and EVs will lead the growth of the Indian car market, with SUVs projected to make up 48% of the country’s passenger car demand and EVs to sell 1 million by 2030.

Chairman Chung on Tuesday discussed the company’s mid-to-long term production and sales plans with local staff during his tour to Hyundai Motor’s Indian car plant in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Hyundai Motor and Kia together sold 502,821 units in the first seven months of this year in India, up 8.8% from the same period last year. The Korean motor group has set a target to sell 873,000 units this year, 8.2% higher from last year.

To meet the goal, Hyundai Motor has ramped up its production capacity in the country to 824,000 units from 770,000.

The Korean motor group also plans to complete the takeover of General Motors Co.’s assembly and powertrain plant with an annual capacity of 130,000 units in Talegaon, Maharashtra by the second half of this year.

R&D AT THE CENTER OF HYUNDAI’S ASCENT

As India is set to become the next EV battleground, Chung urged Hyundai Motor’s R&D center in Hyderabad to lead innovation to make the company the trailblazer in the Indian EV market.

On Monday, Chung visited Hyundai Motor and Kia’s R&D center in Hyderabad to review the auto group’s R&D direction in the country and the local EV market trend.

During his meeting with R&D staff, Chung emphasized the importance of exceeding customers’ expectations by delivering cars with high quality in high demand to build the company’s brand as the first mover in the Indian EV market.

The Indian R&D center collaborates with its Korean counterpart Namyang R&D Center to develop cars tailored to the Indian market.

It is expected to play a bigger role in researching and developing future mobility technologies, including not only autonomous driving and electrification but also localized voice detection customized technology for diverse Indian dialects.

The Korean auto giant is reviewing a plan to expand the Indian R&D center, the company said.

STATE SUPPORT

Chung also met with the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Thiru M.K. Stalin, during his visit to India to discuss various partnership opportunities.

Hyundai Motor and the state of Tamil Nadu, where Hyundai Motor’s car factory is located, signed a memorandum of understanding in May to spend 200 billion rupees ($2.4 billion) for 10 years to build an EV ecosystem in the state.

Under the terms, they will seek to build an EV battery pack plant, expand its EV lineup and install 100 fast EV chargers in Tamil Nadu. 

To meet growing EV demand in India, Hyundai Motor also plans to build a total 439 EV charging stations across the country by 2027, while Kia is also building its own EV charging infrastructure in the country.

The smaller sibling recently pledged to up its market share in India to 10% from the current 6.7% as of the first half of this year by pushing out more models from its Indian car plant in Anantapur after celebrating the milestone of having produced 1 million cars from the factory as of early last month.

Write to Il-Gue Kim at black0419@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.