Hyundai Verna became the first made-in-India vehicle from the company’s stable to score full marks in the Global NCAP safety ratings. What is very significant is that the sedan scored five stars in both adult and child occupant crash testing ratings. Speaking exclusively to Express Drives, Hyundai Motor India COO Tarun Garg explained that infrastructure development and automobile safety go hand-in-hand. “Hence, this is another feather in the cap for Hyundai, but our focus is on introducing safer cars in India, and we believe our mission Safety For All is going to democratize safety for everyone and not just limited to the privileged few.” He also said that Hyundai is looking forward to Bharat NCAP crash ratings and has volunteered for the test with three cars. When asked about the names of the cars, the Hyundai COO said that they would soon announce.
More safety features make cars dearer
Hyundai is known to introduce state-of-the-features like electronic stability control, and hill assist control to now making six airbags a standardized norm across its portfolio. So the company is no stranger to many firsts, especially when it comes to safety. The reality is with the increase in safety features, the price tag of a vehicle also becomes more premium. With India being a price-sensitive market even a mild hike in car prices affects a customer’s purchase capability and buying decision. Garg agreed and said, “This is the reason why Hyundai has taken a gradual approach in standardising six airbags starting in February from the Creta, Alcazar, Tucson and the Ioniq 5. Then in March and July, we introduced this in Verna and Exter respectively. Also, one has to remember that both the i10 Nios and the Aura were equipped with four airbags from February this year.” He further added, “The impact of the price on the customers will be limited to the range of one and a half per cent and that too only on some variants.”
With the focus on safety, Hyundai has tried to up the ante in the safety department with each model upgrade. Initially, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) was limited to the flagship Tucson in 2022. Fast forward to 2023, the company is offering ADAS in five models including the Venue, making it the first sub-4 metre vehicle to be equipped with this function.
How to tackle high SUV demand?
Hyundai sales have been on an upswing in the last three months with September registering a record high total sales of 71,641 units. This resulted in a year-on-year growth of 13.5 per cent and a 9 per cent in domestic sales. With SUVs propelling an unprecedented rise in sales numbers, matching the demand is another challenge for the company. Hyundai had already anticipated this and therefore, to meet the demand, the company had increased its plant’s capacity by 50,000 per annum. Garg said, “The increase in capacity means around 400 additional units are being rolled out per month. Due to this, the Venue and the Creta’s waiting period has come down from six months to two and even less than that for some variants. This is no doubt good news for customers as they may just be able to book, buy and get a delivery of their vehicle in the festival season.”
Long waiting period for Exter: Hype or reality?
Hyundai has pushed the envelope by introducing an SUV in the price region of hatchbacks and compact sedans. The Exter has received a phenomenal response in the market and is also the first in its segment to offer standard six airbags apart from being equipped with class-leading features. The issue here is that the waiting period has shot to 8-9 months. Unfortunately, this has become a norm and customers genuinely wonder whether this is a hype created by the dealers or is the new normal. Garg was quick to explain that the company’s communication has been transparent from the dealer to the customer about the long waiting period. “We started with the production of over 6,000 units then increased to 7000 and now it’s around 7,500 to 8000. I think the production will be stable at about 7,000 to 8,000 units.” He added that the company is focused on people getting a fair assessment and transparency in both product communication and waiting periods.
