New Delhi: For Hyundai Motor India, two of the three vehicle segments - sedans and hatchbacks - continued to shrink in the September quarter this fiscal as SUVs expanded. In the first public quarterly results of the company since it was listed on the Indian bourses, Hyundai showed that seven in 10 vehicles sold in the domestic market were SUVs, with sedans making up for just about 12% of sales and hatchbacks a fifth of the portfolio.

The success of Hyundai in the SUV space has been noteworthy in recent years. In FY19, hatchbacks accounted for nearly one in two vehicles sold but their share shrunk to just about one in three by FY23. In the same period, the share of SUVs nearly doubled to 44% and to about 50% by FY24. Through such turmoil, Hyundai has maintained its second position overall, with models such as CRETA (introduced in 2016), followed by Venue, Aura and Kona.

In the September quarter this fiscal, domestic sales of Hyundai declined by nearly 6% year on year to 149, 638 units (158,772) but the fall in exports was steeper, at 17% to 42,300 units (51,005 units). This, despite its rising heft in the SUV space. Also, for the quarter, Hyundai India’s consolidated net profit was lower by 16% year on year to INR 1,375 crore (INR 1628 crore) due to lower domestic sales, geopolitical factors and exports. Consolidated revenues also fell, by 7.5% to INR 17,260 crore (INR 18,660 crore). Operating margins were lower by 0.3% or 30 basis points to 12.8%. On the export front, the Red Sea crisis also affected both revenue and margins.

"Despite the sluggish market conditions, we have successfully maintained profitability in H1 FY 2024-25, largely due to our proactive and continuous cost control measures. Further, we will be launching the CRETA EV for the mass market in the coming months and we expect it will be a game changer in the EV market," said Managing Director Unsoo Kim.

The expectation of CRETA EV being a game changer has been voiced just when competitor and market leader Maruti Suzuki India is also expected to debut in the EV space around the same time, with eVitara, a product jointly developed by Suzuki Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Corporation.This vehicle is widely expected to offer a significant ‘range’ advantage to the current electric cars on Indian roads.

An industry executive said that the competition in the EV space next year would be all about the range in a single charge and the pricing. Another industry executive said that the decline in Hyundai’s sedan sales is likely due to competition between its own sedans and SUVs, with the latter being the preferred vehicle category in recent months.

Meanwhile, in an investor presentation, the company also said that the share of petrol vehicles in its portfolio has been falling, from 72% in the September quarter of last fiscal to 67% in this fiscal. Diesel now accounts for fifth of the share while the share of CNG has gone up marginally.

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