Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Hyundai drives into rural India to boost sales

April 17, 2009 19:17 IST
Hyundai Motor India Ltd is driving towards the rural market to boost sales as part of strategy to beat downturn in the auto industry.

As the first step to tap consumers in the hinterlands of India, the company today launched a special marketing initiative 'Hyundai Utsav' in rural areas and tier-III cities across Andhra Pradesh and Punjab.

"Rising rural incomes, healthy agriculture growth, boost in demand, tremendous growth in rural infrastructure and growing consumerism have opened up new avenues for automobile manufacturers. We feel that 50 per cent of the 220 million rural households are potential car buyers," HMIL senior vice-president (sales & marketing) Arvind Saxena said.

In order to facilitate rural financing, HMIL has also tied-up with various public sector banks offering a deeper network in rural villages, he added.

The Hyundai Utsav initiative will be kicked off in over 50 locations in Andhra Pradesh and Punjab and the company is trying to reach out to prosperous farmers, money lenders, business community, private companies, government employees, doctors and lawyers across all non-dealership towns.

HMIL's March sales were down 15.8 per cent at 24,751 units against 29,396 units in the same month last year, although for the fiscal 2008-09, its domestic sales were at 244,030 units, up 12.81 from the previous fiscal.

© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.