Unsoo Kim says Hyundai underestimated Indian EV market initially, not worried about catching up 

Hyundai Motor India’s managing director, Unsoo Kim, admitted that the company underestimated India's EV market initially, leading it to be late in addressing the opportunity.

"We couldn't expect India's EV market to grow so positively," said Kim, speaking at the Bharat Mobility Global Expo 2025. "That's why we are a little late."

At the same time, Kim said he is not worried about being able to catch up with rivals. Hyundai's competitors such as Tata Motors and JSW MG Motor India have built up a substantial lead over India's no. 2 carmaker in the electric segment by investing early and an aggressive product strategy. 

"HMC (Hyundai Motor Company), our parent company, is very strong in EV globally, in the US market and the European market. So, we have access to HMC's EV technology like the battery pack or a motor. We are seeing the Indian EV market very positively,” Unsoo Kim said. In the mid to long term, the company is eyeing a market share of over 14% in the EV segment owing to future launches.

Hyundai ventured into India’s EV market, launching the Kona Electric in 2019 which was discontinued in June 2023. This was followed by the CKD-built Hyundai Ioniq 5 in 2023. The company plans to strengthen its presence in the mass-market EV segment with the introduction of three new locally-manufactured electric models with a top down approach. "We started with Ioniq 5 and we'll follow a top-down strategy. This time we have the Creta electric, and next time onwards, we will go down the segments," Kim said. 

The company adds that it won't leave any segment unattended when it comes to the remaining ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles. "Currently, we are covering the hatchback, sedan, SUV, and now the electric. And we will explore more opportunities MPVs. So, we cannot lose any segment. We will focus on the hatchback, sedan and SUV segments," he adds. 

The Pune plant, he adds, will give the company additional capacity. "In the Q4 of this year, 170,000 in phase 1 of Pune plant will be added to our capacity. I think that will also give us more room to introduce more models both in the ICE and EV space," he said.