Case study

Hyundai's Marketing Strategies in India

THE PRICE CUT

In August 2004, a leading business newspaper reported that Hyundai Motors India Limited (HMIL), an Indian subsidiary of the South Korea- based Hyundai Motors Company (HMC) was expected to reduce the price of its flagship car - Santro - by as much as Rs 40,000. Industry experts were expecting a reduction in Santro's price in response to the price war being waged by the market leader in India - Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL), which had reduced the price of its largest selling car in the B segment - Alto - by Rs 58,000 in two price largest selling car in the B segment in the period January to June 2004 Rebutting the report on price cuts, HMIL's managing director, BVR Subbu (Subbu) said, "We are not cutting prices on the Santro. We have allowed our competitors the prerogative of cutting prices." Several dealers of HMIL also felt that the company could not reduce.

Santro had been the most successful product of HMIL and was also the largest selling car in the B segment till the fiscal year 2003-04. Introduced in late 1998, Santro had emerged as the second largest selling car in

Issues

1. Understand the competitive landscape in the Indian passenger car industry and study the marketing strategies of leading players.
2. Study the entry strategies of global car manufacturers in India.
3 .Examine and analyze the marketing mix of Hyundai Motors in the Indian passenger car industry.
4. Compare and contrast the marketing strategy of Hyundai with other leading players in the Indian passenger car industry

India after MUL's M800 and had retained its position till March 2004 (Refer Exhibit II for the total units and value sales of the top eleven car models in India). In mid 2004, HMIL with its four models, Santro, Accent, Sonata and Elantra, was the second largest car company in India with 19% market share in the industry. The company was planning to launch another model, 'Getz', in September 2004.