NEW DELHI : Korean Hyundai will launch 26 new cars in India over the next five years, firing stiff competition in the industry as the company pumps in fresh investments and new vehicles to shore up market share amidst growing challenge from homegrown Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors.The company said it will invest Rs 7,000 crore in India this year and will start introducing new products across price points. These will include 20 internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, six electrics, and even strong hybrid variants, COO Tarun Gard said.Garg said that Hyundai, which will soon start production from its new plant at Talegaon in Maharashtra (acquired from General Motors), is looking at a significant jump in market share as it introduces new cars and technologies over the remaining part of this decade.Asked about challenges from M&M and Tata, he said Hyundai has decided against engaging in “discount war” and is rather “balancing volume market share and profits.”He said the operating margins of Hyundai India stood at 14.1% in Jan-Mar’25 quarter, which is higher than the initial estimates.On the new cars, he said that Hyundai plans to have cars across price points and body styles for a stronger impact in the market with eight models likely to be introduced by FY27. “Obviously, SUVs will be a major focus for us.”On electrics, he said the company will add more localised models to its current line-up that comprises Ioniq and Creta EVs. “We are working aggressively on making our fast-charge network dense, while building in localisation.”Hyundai’s sales in the domestic market declined to around six lakh units last fiscal against 6.1 lakh units in FY24. Exports remained almost flat at 1.6 lakh units in FY25. “The year gone by signifies our resilience in the financial performance by way of sustained revenues and healthy operating margins led by improved realisations and effective cost control measures,” Hyundai India MD Unsoo Kim said.The company remains “cautiously optimistic” on domestic demand in the near-term amid geopolitical uncertainty and weakening customer sentiment. “While we expect our FY26 domestic growth to be broadly in line with Industry estimates of low-single digit, we are aiming for 7-8% growth in exports,” Kim said.Earlier today, Hyundai India reported a 4% dip in its consolidated net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 2025 at Rs 1,614 crore, on account of lower sales in the domestic market.The automaker had posted a profit of Rs 1,677 crore in the January-March period of FY24.Its total revenue from operations rose to Rs 17,940 crore for the period under review compared to Rs 17,671 crore in the year-ago period.
