Hyundai closes in on 10 million sales in India

The Santro won over Indian drivers in 1998. The hit small SUV Creta followed in 2015. Nearly three decades after tailoring key models to local tastes, Hyundai Motor is closing in on 10 million vehicle sales in India.

Hyundai sold 9.88 million vehicles in India from 1998 through September this year, according to data from the automaker and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers on Sunday. Monthly sales have averaged more than 50,000 vehicles this year, which puts the 10 million mark within reach by year-end.

Hyundai Motor Group has sold about 11.54 million vehicles in India when sales by Hyundai's sister company Kia are included.

Kia entered the Indian market in 2019 and has sold 1.66 million vehicles there since.

Hyundai established its Indian subsidiary in 1996 and produced its first Santro at its plant in Chennai, India two years later. The compact car gained a following for its roomy interior and became known as one of India’s most popular small cars, which helped Hyundai establish itself in the market.

SUVs tailored to local drivers later became a key driver of growth.

The Creta was designed with a spacious interior for India’s large families and greater ground clearance to handle rough roads. More than 40,000 units were sold in its first year alone.

Hyundai followed with its subcompact crossover SUV Venue in 2019, the three-row Alcazar in 2021 and the entry-level Exter in 2023.

SUVs accounted for just 8.9 percent of Hyundai’s sales in India in 2015. Their share rose to 69.8 percent last year. Hyundai sold a record 605,433 vehicles in India in 2024.

India is one of the world’s three largest auto markets alongside China and the United States, with annual sales of about 5.5 million vehicles including commercial vehicles, data from the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers showed. The market has grown to roughly 1.5 times its 2021 size of about 3.75 million vehicles.

Growth potential remains particularly strong because car ownership is still low relative to India’s population of 1.4 billion.

India has 34 passenger vehicles for every 1,000 people, compared to 772 in the United States and 455 in Korea, data from the Korea Automotive Technology Institute showed. The institute described India as having “unrivaled growth potential.”

India is also Hyundai’s second-largest overseas market after the United States.

Hyundai sold 473,290 vehicles in India from January through September this year, more than the roughly 450,000 it sold in Korea over the same period, according to a recent report from Eugene Investment & Securities.

Hyundai’s global sales fell 7.1 percent over the period. Sales also declined 16.3 percent in Korea, 12.2 percent in Europe and 39.1 percent in China. India bucked the trend with a 10.7 percent increase, the strongest growth rate among Hyundai’s major markets.

Competition, however, has intensified.

Hyundai’s share of the Indian market fell from 14 percent in 2024 to 11.8 percent from January through September this year. Its sales ranking also slipped from second to fourth.

Hyundai can currently produce about 1 million vehicles a year at its Chennai and Pune plants. Hyundai Motor Group’s total capacity in India reaches 1.43 million vehicles when Kia’s Anantapur plant, which can produce 431,000 vehicles annually, is included.

Hyundai plans to expand its Pune plant and raise its own annual production capacity in India to more than 1.1 million vehicles by 2030. The automaker also aims to lift SUVs to 80 percent of local sales and exports to as much as 30 percent of production.

BY SUK GYEONG-MIN [[email protected]]