#ShiftingGearsWithSwatiK: India is a very resilient economy and we will be back strongly soon, says Tarun Garg, Hyundai Motor India

Hyundai India is bringing virtual live event, The Next Dimension, on July 14, 2020, at noon, where it will be presenting its three ICONIC brands, the Ultimate SUV of 2020 - All New CRETA, Spirited New VERNA and Virtual Launch of New TUSCON, said Tarun Garg, Director, Sales & Marketing, Hyundai Motor India, during a candid chat with Swati Khandelwal, Zee Business, at a Facebook live event. The chat was live on Zee Business Facebook page.

Talking about the response and demand since unlocking and reopening started in different states and the overall economy, Mr Garg said, COVID has surprised everyone unprecedentedly but the Spirit of India, which followed COVID is pleasingly surprising everyone. He termed Indian customers interest and enthusiasm towards the automobile industry as an unprecedented one. To this, he added, that there was a complete lockdown in April due to which everyone was at 0% but if I will talk about June in respect to Hyundai than we have reached almost 75% level of the corresponding month of the last year. In July, we are running almost 40% above last month, so I expect that we will be able to reach up to 100% of the last year. This is very good and it is quite better than everyone’s expectations. Possibly, the spirit of the Indian customers is very strong and India is a very resilient economy and we will be back strongly soon. It is visible and our vehicles are in great demand. He added that the response for vehicles, like new CRETA, new Verna along with our strong products, like i20, and Nios, is very strong and encouraging.  

When asked about the booking activity and customers preference in terms of diesel or petrol, Mr Garg said, booking is growing at a fast pace and we have crossed the figure of 40,000 and we are getting good response towards it. The best thing is that we are getting a response from all over India; it is not so that we are getting it from some pockets. We are getting a response from urban India and rural India and all directions, North, West and South. As far as diesel is concerned then for a long time it was being discussed that the price gap between diesel and petrol is decreasing. But in June we saw that almost 59% of people opted for diesel in CRETA. So in Hyundai, the demand for diesel especially in the case of CRETA has been more than petrol. Of course, the demand for petrol is strong but the demand for diesel is also very strong. In fact, at the time of launch of the vehicle on March 16, we said that more than 50% diesel customers are coming to book the car and the numbers have reached to 59% in June. So, customers prefer diesel a lot. And, it shows that customers of diesel vehicles don’t look at it only from the price perspective of diesel and petrol but he looks on other factors as well like fun to drive, fuel efficiency and the full package of CRETA brand. Looks, style and features of the car among others have been liked by the customers and this is a reason that so many customers both for petrol and diesel are being attracted towards CRETA. 

In terms of current availability of CRETA at dealerships, he said, I can happily say that our production has ramped up the production process - despite it faced many challenges in starting it again - very quickly but the demand is very high, which has created some backlog but we are trying our best to end the backlog as the earliest. He added, the company is working in two shifts at present and has plans to add one more shift in the process. It will help them in supplying the vehicle immediately to the customers but there is some waiting at present but customers can get the vehicle in four to six weeks after it is booked at the showroom. 

When asked about the kind of response he is expecting for new launches of the year, Mr Garg said, we have been hearing that there is no growth in the auto industry and the last year has been challenging for it. But, I believe that growth can be brought by attracting the customers by bringing new models, new technology and I think, Hyundai has launched many models. In 2019, we have launched new models in the form of Venue, Nios, Kona E and Elantra and these four models helped us to ditch degrowth. I think that it is very important and it must not be limited only to models but technology also counts in it. Hyundai is bringing a different kind of automatic things and has introduced iMT (intelligent Manual Transmission). Along with that, it has also introduced a variety of technologies in BSVI, CNG, diesel, and EV to increase the demand. 

Speaking about the planned new launches of Hyundai in India, Mr Garg said, we have just announced iMT, an intelligent manual transmission, a unique technology that is being introduced by Hyundai in India. We have just announced the iMT, this is an intelligent manual transmission, a unique technology introduced by Hyundai for the first time. Of course, automatic is available but some customers say that we don’t want automatic maybe because it becomes expensive for some of them or they have concerns related to fuel efficiency. So, we have innovated and introduced iMT, it will not have the clutch and it is going to be a two-pedal technology but the customers will enjoy the pleasure of manual in the absence of the clutch. I think it is a very unique technology. 

Besides, Hyundai India will be bringing The Next Dimension, a virtual event live for people on our website and different handles on July 14, 2020, at 12 PM, and would like to invite your viewers to join us on any of the platforms. During the live show, we will be presenting Hyundai’s iconic brands, the all-new CRETA, Spirited New VERNA and Virtual Launch of New TUSCON, in a unique digital format. He added Hyundai’s bag is full and continuously we will be launching new things for the customers. 

#ShiftingGearsWithSwatiK is a Zee Business exclusive series that has been created to reveal the extent of COVID-19 impact on the world’s leading auto brands, their pivot strategies in the New Normal and much beyond that.