Hyundai Motor India ramps up output by 30% for Exter, with bookings crossing 75,000 units

On the back of strong demand momentum for its subcompact SUV Exter, Hyundai Motor India is ramping up production capacity for its highly successful entry SUV - Exter by 30 percent as the cumulative bookings have crossed 75,000 units. 

As against the previous plan of producing 6000 units of Exter, Hyundai Motor India is increasing the output to 8000 units per month. Alternatively, the company is also diverting some of the volumes meant for exports to the domestic market to cater to a long waiting list which has already extended beyond six months to nine months.  The output is likely to further improve sometime in 2024. 

Tarun Garg, COO, Hyundai Motor India in a conversation with Autocar Professional said "The demand for Exter has been very strong. It has brought in a lot of new buyers at the entry level. The high aspiration quotient with features like Sunroof and standard 6 airbags have been very well appreciated by the consumers. About 75 percent of Exters being sold are with the Sunroof.” 

While there were fears of Exter cannibalising Venue buyers, the company claims that the sales of Venue have remained above 10,000 units per month and there is hardly any cannibalisation there. There has been a marginal impact on its hatchback at the entry level by 1000-1500 units, which is minimal and hence Exter has brought in incremental sales for the company by about 6000 units.

With the introduction of Exter, close to 64 percent of total sales for Hyundai Motor India now comes from SUVs which is almost 10-15 percent higher penetration than the industry average of about 50 percent. Garg expects this share of SUVs to remain high around the similar levels in the coming years.  

The launch of Exter has already expanded the entry SUV market and it has already become the second highest selling entry SUV in the segment after Tata Punch, helping the company inch back to a 20 percent segment share in the SUV space yet again. 

Garg informs that Hyundai already is a segment leader in the mid-size sedan segment with Verna, mid-size SUV space with Creta and C segment SUV with Tucson, thereby helping the brand remain in the top consideration set of the prospective buyers. 

Healthy festive season 
To capitalise on the momentum, the company is building healthy stock of 20-25 days at the dealership. With the increase of production, Creta's waiting period has come down from 6 months to only about 2 months.  

Garg says the festive season is always critical as it allows consumers to fructify their dreams into reality. With actual deliveries getting delayed in the last two years due to limited stock, this year is going to a be a record festive year with healthy stock situation. 

“The supply situation has more or less resolved, the pent-up demand is almost gone, but the good thing is that fresh demand is very strong. Hyundai has posted a growth of more than 10 percent in Onam on a high base of last year, which is very healthy. It seems this festival on an overall basis, we will be growing by 9-10 percent, and that is on a high base of last year so it is not bad at all,” added Garg. 

So far this calendar year, the passenger vehicle market has grown by about 9 percent - Hyundai could end this year with a growth of around 9 percent or may be a little higher.