What would you do if you were Hyundai management?

[rangaraj]

Hyundai has been going through some bad times and lost their story on their way.

Their entry level segment flagship vehicle - Santro is under fire from the Alto and Spark at the lower end

The next level - Getz is under fire from the Swift, Chevy UA

Their Accent is out of production

Verna is probably the only one doing sort of decent

Elantra is heading for out of production/EOL

Sonata/Emebera never made it

Tuscon has hardly making a dent to the rest of the SUV marketspace

Overall hyudai is in deep **** and what should they do to revive their position? I remember Maruti was in a similar situation and the introduction of the Alto, Swift, SX4 has transformed their fate.. Wonder what hyundai has in store for us?

[DieselFan]

Introducing Santro CRDI and GETZ CRDI should be in the top of their agenda. A Sub 10 Lacs SUV from Hyundai would sell like hot cakes. Competitive pricing of Verna/Getz would also be useful.

[vkochar]

Hi Rangaraj !! Do you read newspapers or watch TV at all !! In fact do you keep any tab at the latest automotive news ??

Santro since the time it launched has constantly remained India's second largest selling car. It continues to sell more than 12000 units every month, with only Alto selling more than Santro ( due to the price ).

Accent was the highest selling sedan till 2 years back, still continues to sell in huge numbers. Verna is now selling more than Honda City / Fiesta. Check the latest edition of OUTLOOK MONEY. I think there is a thread here at T-BHP also showing monthly stats of car sales.

Getz I agree has not caused a dent in Swift Sales BUT it continues to outsell every other hatch around it ( Aveo U-VA, Palio etc. ). So no worries there. Introducing Getz CRDi as DieselFan quoted - would increase sales tremendously.

ELantra in the latest TG was rated a better car than Skoda 1.,9 TDi, though it sold badly. Its new version is expected soon.

The Flop show has been Sonata, Terracan & Tucson to an extent, BUT that will not matter to Hyundai as they are already selling more cars than they could ever imagine.

Around the Corner - GETZ CRDi, SANTRO PA ( Diesel & Petrol ). Already launched Santro CNG.

For no reason has Hyundai not become 2nd Biggest Manufacturer of Cars in India and you say Hyundai is in deep ****.

I do not know if other BHPians agree with you or not but I certainly DON'T.

Cheers !!! Varun

[benbsb29]

Hyundai would definitely get back in line, with the introduction of their diesels in the small car range. However, they need to get their pricing right, which is where Maruti seems to have beaten them fair and square.

[vkochar]

@ benbsb29 - Yes I agree with you totally, Getz Pricing has been quite ridiculous.

On the other Hand I think Verna is priced quite well, 110 BHP / at almost the same price comparing it to Fiesta ( give or take a few thousands ) , also trim levels quite similar.

[itwasntme]

IMO, a gameplan could be:

Lower the price of the basic models of the Santro to Alto/Xeta levels

Make a success of the new 'PA' car which looks to be launched by November/December 2007. Price it between the Getz and the Santro and do a good job of the new 1.1 litre CRDI engine

Rationalise the prices of the Verna which is way too high right now as compared to the Fiesta and the Aveo base models. Lower the CRDI price and ensure that the CRDI model has ABS and better tyres.

Introduce the new Elantra at a competitive price ASAP to compete against the Civic etc

Lower the price of the Emebera?

Lower the price of the Tuscon or introduce a 12 lakh SUV. IMO, the latter will sell like hot cakes if the Safari's sales are anything to go by

[sgmuser]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Hyundai would definitely get back in line, with the introduction of their diesels in the small car range. However, they need to get their pricing right, which is where Maruti seems to have beaten them fair and square.

Exactly. Maruti's success lies in its ability in giving what market needs simply and price it right sometimes unexpectedly cheaper (Swift D and SX4). Getz is a solid car, great engine, excellent build quality with superb interior space. Pricing is lousy. 50k cut should work wonder as the spec sheet looks surely not so good when comparing with Swift P.

Getz D may be a good proposition but still Hyundai is famous for stupid pricing and any product in india without a sensible pricing will go nowhere.

- Pricing is the keyword for Hyundai

- And bring PA asap. Just one model against, Maruti's 4 small cars is a bit of tough stuff.

- The problem with Hyundai is that they dont have many small car models and they borrow PA from Kia. Good time to think about building a or may be 2 small cars using Indian knowledge/skills in India itself.

[abhilashvk]

[quote]Their Accent is out of production[quote]

Accent as vkochar expressed, was one of the highest selling sedans. Also the CRDi version was a big success. There were times when Accent CRDi was sold with no freebies, not even floor mats and people bought it. Now to improve the Verna sales (which is the Accent in other markets), they stopped CRDi and VIVA version. They continue to sell Accent base model along with other Hyundai siblings.Accent is also exported to other countries hence Hyundai will continue to manufacture it.

Getz as others mentioned is slightly over priced in Indian market, having said that no car in that category gives the same build quality and interiors except Palio Stile. But with the discounts close to 50K and other freebies Hyundai still manages to achieve some numbers which is better than many hatch backs in that class.

Sonata/Emebera never made it
Tuscon has hardly making a dent to the rest of the SUV marketspace

The Sonatas, Elantras and Tucsons are the high margin low volume cars, also an image associated with these cars. Hence you cannot expect sales like a Skoda or an Accord. Which of the companies have sold more - Tucson or Vitara?
I feel Hyundai should get the diesel mills straight in all cars, price them currectly and they can do wonders with numbers.

[ajmat]

Hyundai ought to come out with its i series cars - they are quite european in nature

[JayD]

The Things i would do are
1) Launch getz crdi and reduce the getz petrol
2) Try to reposition the tucson to 12lac
3) Speed up the launch of the PA and reposition the santro a bit lower down
4) Maybe-relaunch the viva crdi in a stripped down variant(to combat the logan)

[maxbhp]

1. Concentrate on the A , B , C segment cars.
2. Launch an array of diesel powered A/B segment cars to shock the market leader Maruti (santro diesel / getz diesel) within 2-4 months.
3. Build a premium brand to position itself more effectievely in the premium segment that is D + segment .
4. Make sure never to launch a well packaged car with an ugly face (elantra) .

[himanshugoswami]

the only thing that I would do is to get BVR Subbu back ASAP. Hyundai reached from 0 to 2nd podition primarily thanks to the vision and the business acument of Subbu.

[madan80]

Sponsor motor sports and bring up rallying!

[GTO]

An MUV (a la Qualis) would greatly help their volumes too. Hyundai has all that it takes to appeal to the people mover segment. A good diesel in the hatchbacks (upcoming Santro + Getz) should also give them much needed steam.

I agree that Hyundai is in trouble....except for the Santro, there really isnt a hot moving car in their showrooms.

[iraghava]

Well my 2 cents to Hyundai would be to get back to the VFM mantra. That is what made them a sales success in india in the first place & with the stupid pricing of the Getz/Elantra/Sonata/Tucson they've done more damage to themselves than good. Look how even today their correctly priced cars continue to sell (Santro, Accent, Verna etc.)

They always gave a decently specced car alongwith a price which made the customer feel that he was getting a very good VFM deal & with the recent pricing strategy they've lost out on it. They have to realise that they cannot charge a premium for their brand name yet in the Indian market ala Honda, Toyota etc.