Maruti Suzuki has been the leader in the compact car segment for a long long time now. The Indo-Japanese company has remained unchallenged till now in the hatchback space. The automaker’s Alto, Wagon R, Ritz and Swift are very high selling cars which has helped Maruti Suzuki maintain the top spot in the Indian automobile market. Sitting at number two is Hyundai, a company which has offered cars in almost every segment, right from entry-level to premium offerings. The Korean automaker is now looking at beating Maruti Suzuki in the compact car race.
Hyundai’s plan is a long term one and the aim is to overtake Maruti Suzuki in the compact car market by 2020. Hyundai Korea has asked its Indian subsidiary to step up the game to win market leadership. It also wants Hyundai to be the most famous car brand in India. Currently Hyundai is far away from Maruti Suzuki in terms of volumes. India’s largest carmaker enjoys a market share of around 40 percent while Hyundai enjoys around 15 percent share. Third number is occupied by Mahindra which has around 8 percent market share. Thus Maruti Suzuki sells more than twice as many cars as Hyundai. Considering Hyundai sells big cars too, Maruti Suzuki sells way more compact cars than the Korean company. Thus to overtake Maruti Suzuki in the compact segment is not going to be easy.
Hyundai doesn’t have the capacity to overtake Maruti Suzuki either, as the former can produce 6.5 units per annum while the latter has an amazing production capacity of 15 lakh units which is being expanded further. Hyundai is ready to invest in boosting capacity should the demand justify a new plant Maruti being much older has a larger distribution network as well. To tackle Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai is getting a slew of models including the Grand i10, Eon 1.1, next generation i20, compact sedan and compact MPV.
Maruti Suzuki has taken notice of competition and is working aggressively to tackle Hyundai. The Japanese automaker is working on a range of cars in a multitude of segments, right from hatchbacks to SUVs. The upcoming A-Start/Estilo replacement (codenamed YL7) will tackle the Grand i10. The YL7 will be offered in both petrol and diesel avatars. Hyundai on its part is increasing focus on R&D and plans to roll out its first made in India car by 2017. Amidst this battle, other carmakers like Honda, Ford and Tata Motors are looking at aggressive launches to rob market share from the segment leaders.
