Hyundai India to search for new export markets

Hyundai India, country's largest car exporter and second largest car maker after Maruti, is working hard on maintaining its high export figures of 2,70,000 units of year 2009. Maintaining the last year's performance in this year as well, has become a challenge for the company, as government has recently withdrawn the much beneficial scrappage scheme in European countries, which accounted for more than 50 percent of exports for the company in year 2009.

The recession is still not over globally and with the ending of the scrappage incentive scheme, the scenario is in fact quite challenging. The Company expects to maintain its exports at a steady level in addition to maintaining last year’s volumes. At best, it is hoping to end the year with single-digit growth figures for its exports, as per a statement given by Arvind Saxena, director (marketing and sales), HMIL, to a leading business news paper. The i20 has done well and is generating tremendous response from different markets and this should help the company to maintain its growth this year, Mr Saxena added.

Hyundai India is the largest passenger car exporter of India acquiring more than 68 per cent market share in this segment. In year 2009, the company exported 2,70,000 units in total, including a high number of compact cars, with the help of scrappage incentive scheme, introduced in most of the EU countries. The company had registered an export growth of 10.7 percent in year 2009, as against the same period of year 2008.

A scrappage scheme was basically a government's initiative to boost market demand in the industrial sector during the global recession (in year 2008). With this, the scheme was also helpful in promoting the replacement of old vehicles with modern vehicles, so that the inefficient and high-emission cars can be removed from the roads.