Thursday, January 10, 2013

The godot factor

hyundai did humble the market leader in 1998. but leadership in the passenger car segment is still a far cry for this korean giant

“Would you like to advertise with us Mr. Khan?” It was a seemingly simple question that was asked by Hyundai’s Korean chief Y. S. Kim to India’s superstar Shahrukh Khan way back in 1998. But the results were spectacular.

As Indians watched this first advertisement and the series of advertisements that followed (in which Kim was shown telling Shahrukh about Hyundai the company and its stature), they began to develop a certain affinity for a brand that they had never even heard of, and from a country that they hadn’t really associated with car manufacturing till then (barring Daewoo). But thanks to the success of the advertising campaign and the inherent strengths of the Santro (like tall boy design, more leg room, boot space, et al, which market leader Maruti’s Zen sorely lacked), the Indian audience got enthralled and responded with a flood of bookings. Successful inroads had been made, both for the grumpy looking Santro and for Hyundai. And it awoke Maruti from its slumber as well.

There is no denying that the Indian passenger car market is the world’s 11th largest market today and is well poised to grab the seventh spot by the year 2016. But making a mark here is far from a cake walk. Ask Fiat, Daewoo or Ford for that matter. After 1991 (when the automobile industry was allowed a 100% FDI), many new players made their way into the Indian market, but Hyundai Motors India Pvt. Ltd. was one of the few who successfully broke the clutter. Today, thanks to the momentum it built from the outset, Hyundai holds a healthy 20% market share in the Indian passenger car market.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
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