BRAND-DOSSIER
Hyundai
Literature Review for the Brand
CONTRIBUTED BY:
Abhijit Dey
Aswini Kumar Sahu
Atma Pattnaik
Debarnik Biswas
INDEX
 Early History
 Evolution of Hyundai leadership & strategy
 Indian Automobile Industry
 Advertising Strategies of HMIL
 Integrated Marketing Communication
 Segmentation Strategy
 Analysis of Brand and Service Network
 SWOT Analysis
 Generic Competition
 Strategies adopted to tackle competition
 Analysis of the Marketing Mix
 Distribution Strategy
 Data Evaluation
 Future Direction of Hyundai
 Hypothesis
 Justification
 Summary of findings
 Analysis
 Net take away
EARLY HISTORY OF HUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY
The Hyundai
Motor
Company
is
a South
Korean multinational automaker
headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Hyundai was founded in 1967 and it, along
with Kia, together comprise the Hyundai Motor Group, which is the world's fourth
largest car maker based on annual vehicle sales in 2010. In 2008, Hyundai (without
Kia) ranked as the eighth largest automaker. In 2010, Hyundai sold over 3.6 million
vehicles worldwide.
Hyundai operates the world's largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility
in Ulsan, which is capable of producing 1.6 million units annually. The company
employs about 75,000 persons worldwide. Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries
through some 6,000 dealerships and showrooms. Hyundai Motor Company is the
world's largest automaker by profit.
Chung Ju-Yung founded the Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company in 1947.
Hyundai Motor Company was later established in 1967.
The company began to produce models with its own technology in 1988, beginning
with the midsize Sonata. In the spring of 1990, aggregate production of Hyundai
automobiles reached the four million mark. In 1991, the company succeeded in
developing its first proprietary gasoline engine, the four-cylinder Alpha, and also its
own transmission, thus paving the way for technological independence.
In 1996, Hyundai Motor India Limited was established with a production plant in
Irungattukottai near Chennai, India.
In 1998, Hyundai began to overhaul its image in an attempt to establish itself as a
world-class brand. In 2004, Hyundai was ranked second in "initial quality". Hyundai is
now one of the top 100 most valuable brands worldwide.
Hyundai Motor Company (HMC), the largest automobile company in Korea, went
through some tumultuous events since it entered the U.S. auto market in 1986. After
a promising beginning, a “Hyundai Car” became a synonym for a cheap car, suitable
only for the lower class or a cheapskate. The following article illustrates how
miserable Hyundai’s U.S. history was: Back in 1998, the wheels were coming off
Hyundai. A few years ago, however, a variety of auto mass media began to publicize
Hyundai’s high test scores for content and performance. People working with
Hyundai, as well as customers and industry analysts were amazed to see the recent
rapid improvement of Hyundai cars in quality ratings and sales. ” The highest rating
of “5-stars” by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) assigned
to the 2002-3 Hyundai Sonata midsize cars was also remarkable. The quality
improvements at Hyundai, combined with its timely marketing strategies, had led to
a dramatic increase in sales. Hyundai saw its U.S. sales increase 284,902 cars (a 315.8
percent rise) over the 1998-2002 period, while the total sales of other automakers
increased by 103.5 percent. Despite this striking growth, however, HMC still
observed a considerable discrepancy between the actual and perceived quality of
Hyundai cars. Optimists in HMC attributed this to an unavoidable time lag between
actual product quality and product reputation, and believed that time will show the
truth. However, many executives felt it was necessary to come up with effective
strategies to help shorten the time lag and eventually make Hyundai’s reputation
comparable to Toyota and Honda. Suk-Jang Lee, a senior manager at the business
strategy and planning team in HMC, said, “We are grappling with how to change
Hyundai’s brand identity from cost-saving car to quality-oriented car, but it is not
easy.” On the other hand, some management groups doubted the wisdom of
changing Hyundai’s brand identity.
EVOLUTION OF HYUNDAI LEADERSHIP AND STRATEGY
Similar to the business divisions of other Korean Chaebols, HMC was born under the
authoritarian, charismatic leadership of Ju-Young Chung, the founding chairman of
HMC, and consequently with a unified and centralized management structure. Since
the initial ownership structure was totally controlled by Ju-Young Chung and his
heirs, the management and ownership of HMC completely overlapped. Its strategic
goals and decision-making processes were dominated by the Chung family’s
centralized dominance and emperorship. However, such a patriarchal ownership and
management structure allowed HMC to pursue more autonomy over its external
relationships. For example, when HMC entered into a strategic alliance with Ford, JuYoung Chung declined to transfer his managerial authority to Ford. Also, in 1974,
HMC picked Mitsubishi, rather than a member of the U.S. Big-3 or Toyota, as its joint
venture partner because this made it easier for HMC to secure strategic autonomy
over its own technological and market development. In addition, the full financial
and personnel support from HMC’s mother company, the Hyundai Engineering &
Construction Company, which was also owned and managed by the Ju-Young Chung,
provided him with leverage to steer HMC his way. A person who worked with HMC
from 1985 to 1996 said (on condition of anonymity)5.Not all executives are affiliated
with the Chung family. We had a bunch of talented professional managers. In fact,
we needed an expansion strategy until the late 1980s in order to be the #1 Korean
automaker and this strategy fitted well with what we call “Chung’s mode of bulldozer
leadership.” But it also seems to be true that we learned that projects initiated
through personal ambition lead to poor preparation.6 After successfully seeing HMC
enter the North American market, Ju-Young Chung handed over the Chairmanship of
the Hyundai group and HMC to his younger brother, Se-Young Chung, in 1987. The
new leadership infused HMC with a different organizational culture inspire HMC
with the new spirit of “harmonious human relations, autonomous management,
responsibility management, and equal opportunity,”7and thus drive out the previous
owner-oriented emperor leadership by delegating responsibility and authority to
professional executives and managers. The change in leadership also led to a change
in strategic focus. From 1987 to 1988, Se-Young Chung redesigned the HMC
organization with the goal of “improvement in production efficiency” by reshuffling
or merging.
The Troubled Years (1989 to 1998)
It did not take long for customers to realize the product had severe quality problems.
It was not uncommon to see one stopped on the street with its engine blown. They
often observed that car bodies rusted fast and air conditioners did not work on hot
days. In 1989, Hyundai’s sales fell to 183,261 units, a decline of 30.66 percent
(Exhibit 3). Such a big drop in sales was a heavy blow to Hyundai’s business in the
U.S. HMA lost two COOs during the latter half of 1989. Dealer profits plummeted,
and a number of showcase Hyundai dealerships closed in 1989. Difficulties in finding
lenders to finance Hyundai consumer loans forced Hyundai to create its own
financing arm in 1990.
Hyundai attempted to diversify its product mix, but it was not very successful.
Although the Elantra debuted in the U.S. in 1991 to bridge the gap between the
subcompact 1.5 litre Excel and the family-sized V-6 powered Sonata, it posed a
danger to Excel sales because the differentiation between the Excel and the Elantra
(powered by a 1.5 litre standard engine versus a dual overhead cam 1.6 litre optional
engine) was not great enough to be perceived by the public. HMA also planned to
introduce a prestige car in order to escape from the cheap car image, but HMC
ignored this plan because its success in domestic sales was enough to satisfy its goal.
In 1995-1996, Hyundai sought to upgrade its quality image by marketing the new
Accent and Elantra models, which contributed to the rebound in the 1997 J.D. Power
quality ratings (Exhibit 5) and 1996/1997 Consumer Reports quality ratings (Exhibit
6). However, the 1996 sales were off approximately 20 percent from the previous
year. The launch of the all-new Elantra did not go well. Then seven high ranking
managers walked away from Hyundai in six months. “The Koreans still blamed the
Americans for the sales fall-off, even though the problem was entirely productdriven. So no American is ever going to have any autonomy, and that’s why
everyone’s leaving,” said one former staffer on condition of anonymity.17 However,
a Korean staffer, who insisted on anonymity, blamed the Americans for an
inadequate marketing strategy: “They (HMA) never mentioned the increased quality
image in the ad campaign of the Elantra launch.” Hyundai needs to disconnect its
brand name from the ‘lowest-priced car’ and mount a long -term image-building
campaign. But, due to the short-term sales pressure from HMC, HMA spent all their
money on sales incentives rather than on increasing brand image.”
The Recovery (1999 to 2003)
Hyundai was back with a rapid sales hike beginning 1999. Sales of Hyundai-branded
vehicles rose about 80 percent, Hyundai’s dealership shopping rate was the highest
since 1993, and more than double that of 1998. These trends in sales continued, with
sales reaching 375,119 units in 2002. Exhibit 7 shows the sales distribution of
Hyundai cars across models in 2001 and 2002. The Elantra had been the best seller,
while the proportion of Santa Fe models sold grew larger every year and the Accent’s
portion decreased. This was closely related to the changing demographics of Hyundai
buyers. Hyundai buyers had become older on average – 46 in 2003 compared with 42
in 1998. In addition, 75 percent were college educated, compared with 47 percent in
1999, and the 2003 median household income of Hyundai buyers was approximately
$52,000, compared with below $40,000 in 1998.
“The Best Warranty”
In November 1998, right after the promotion of Finbarr O’Neill to president and CEO
from COO, HMA launched national commercials for what it called “the industry’s
best warranty,” which offered 10-year, 100,000-mile power train protection to
original owners. The U.S. auto industry was perplexed with this “crazy” tactic, but it
really turned things around. Sales soared, dealers became profitable, and Hyundai
began to get accolades. A document from HMA reported that 92 percent of the 1999
Hyundai buyers said that the warranty was one of the main reasons they bought
Hyundai. Offering the best warranty, not just a better, was the best way to signal
that Hyundai has a high level of quality. When we first turned in our warranty plan to
HMC, they thought we were insane. Some guys said Hyundai would collapse if we
launch the policy. Ironically, the autocratic culture of HMC worked it out. We
succeeded in persuading Mong-Koo Chung, so that was that. We learned that
sometimes top-down decision-making is more effective than democratic.
Indian Automobile Industry:
KEY DEMAND DRIVERS:
Now we would like to deal with Hyundai Motors India Limited (HMIL).Traditionally,
disposable income was perceived as the key factor driving passenger car demand.
But over time, other factors that are known to have an impact on demand have
emerged. These include the need for greater mobility, non- availability of public
transport services, availability of cheap finance, development of the used-car market,
introduction of new technologically superior models, increasing levels of
urbanization and changing consumer profiles.
INITIAL POSITIONING OF AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRIES:
The credit for growing the Indian Compact Segment, and in fact, the Indian Passenger
car industry goes partly to the Korean manufacturers (HMIL and the erstwhile
Daewoo) and the Indian player Tata Motors.
The HMIL Santro was launched in September1998 and created a sensation on
account of its aggressive pricing at Rs.2, 99,000. The Santro became successful as
HMIL had got the price –value equation just right. While Daewoo’s Matiz picked up
only seven months after its launch, the Santro was selling more than 3000units a
month only 2 months after its launch. HMIL had infact, planned its entry into the
Indian market with the 1495cc Accent but later opted in favour of the smaller car. At
the time the Santro was launched, both the options available in the segment- Fiat
Uno and the Zen-had been around in the Indian Market for quite some time and
lacked novelty. Santro was not only cheaper but also incorporated a multi-point fuel
injection (MPFI) system that offered superior fuel economy to Zen’s carburettor
system.
The Matiz was launched in November 1998. Its 800cc engine immediately
encouraged comparisons with Maruti 800. The initial launch price of Matiz at Rs. 3,
55,000 was significantly higher than the Santro’s Rs, 2, 99,000. Given that the Matiz
was smaller than the Zen and the Santro, the initial impact was not so strong. In May
1999, Daewoo launched stripped-down variants. The launch of the cheaper versions
saw the sales of Matiz reaching almost 2000 units in May 1999 and recording an
average monthly sale of 3123units in FY2000. However, the financial crisis faced by
the parent, Daewoo Motor Corporation affected the performance of the Indian
subsidiary (that was reporting net loss and had significant borrowings).
Subsequently, the Indian subsidiary halted production.
MUL now has 4 cars in the Compact Segment: the Swift, the Zen, the Alto and the
Wagon R. In terms of market share, Zen steadily lost share in FY2000 to its
competitors. Despite this, there is no denying that the Zen is one of the bigger
success stories in the Indian car market. With 3 models, MUL is the market leader in
the Compact segment.
The Alto arrived in India when there was little room for man oeuvre in a crowded
compact segment. It was launched in 2 versions, the LX and the VX. The base version
is priced competitively with the deluxe version of the Maruti800, while the higherend version competes with the based versions of the Zen and the Wagon R.
The 1061cc Wagon R is available in four manual transmission variants (LX, LXi, VX and
VXi) and one automatic transmission variant (AX). Since its introduction in February
2000, Wagon R has been selling in the 1500-3000units per month range as against
5000-8000units per month range for the Santro. The presence of the already well-
established Matiz and the Santro meant that the novelty factor did not work too well
for Wagon R.
However 2005 has been a revolutionary year for Maruti since its new Launch Swift
has been a huge success in the market and the most demanded car as well.
The
other
cars in the
compact
segment
have
to
made
an immediate
dent in the
market with
their
launch
are the Palio
of Fiat India
and
the
improved version Indica V2 of Tata Motors. Indica was the third largest selling car in
FY2002 in this segment, after Santro and Zen. On the other hand, Palio was launched
at the time when the passenger car industry was witnessing a slump but the hmodel
cut across the barriers and was able to create a market for itself. However, the
success of this model was short-lived and the sales declined thereafter. Nevertheless,
launches of new variants (such as the diesel version) helped sales recover marginally.
The size of the compact segment has increased as a result of the high growth rate
attained by the models in this segment. The changing price-value equation, coupled
with the declining interest rates and easy availability of finance, has prompted
consumers to move towards the compact car segment from the mini segment. The
high rate of growth achieved by the compact segment has attracted the attention of
other players also; including GM. GM has entered the compact segment with the
launch of its Opel Corsa Sail in May2003.
ADVERTISING STRATEGIES OF HYUNDAI MOTORS INDIA LIMITED:
“Lifetime partner in automobiles and beyond”
Hyundai Motor India Limited is known as a successful automobile giant due to its
innovative and extreme marketing strategies. Hyundai entered into Market at a
time when there was a more than 80% of market share of car by Maruti and then
subsequently by Ford Motors, GM, Toyota Motors, Daewoo motors, Honda
motors. Hyundai launched itself through its subsidiary HMIL with their
Headquarters at Chennai on 1996.They entered the market primary through their
new product Santro .We can evaluate their threats and opportunities at the point
of their entry. Establishing own manufacturing plant with proper Market
Research and Targeting the middle income earners who would prefer small cars.
 Had a potential of making big as there was High demand of small cars with
only MUL as a player in small car industry.
 Its big threat was Maruti (M.U.L) who had a dominating market share and
thereby it was difficult to create a new brand image in people’s mind.
 Positioning and Targeting
Targeted the B segment
Small car with many additional features and low price.
The marketing mix of Hyundai initially at the positioning of Santro was
 Pricing based on consumer perceptions-Price
 3 versions of product with additional features-Product
 Elaborated process to select dealers and place of sale-Place
 Promotion done by Media Advertisements by celebrities like SRK
–Promotion.
Now, we would elaborately deal with the advertisement Strategies followed
by Hyundai throughout.
 Brand Endorsements :
While
the
companies
make
excellent Product, they realize
creative advertisements is an
important part of their Marketing
Success.
Hyundai
marketers
targeted Shah Rukh Khan who has
a
great mass appeal as they
wished to reach to consumers at a
point where consumers are becoming less responsive to advertisement.An
image of Shah Rukh Khan pushing for the product will not only bring freshness
for the commercials but would help to create brand faith and image.
Beside this Marketers tend to negotiate with studios and production
companies to get their brands into Movies, television shows. In fact, Hyundai
was the first company to have employed the fame of an Indian Bollywood
actor. Attaching Celebrity personality with the brand through product launch,
promotional events etc. also add value to the brand.
 Target Group:
It initially wanted to target the young couples who aspire to buy new cars but
fails to afford it. So with the affordable price Range along with style,
Innovation and comfort- it attracted a huge
chunk of first takers.
 Strategy:
Advertisements based on the needs and
aspiration of a particular customer but
especially for their target group. Their repeated advertisement carrying the
same message over the years proves this point. Ads were based on the point
of providing better mileage along with low maintenance cost and great after
sales services. Taglines like- “Mileage mein first car”
Attracted huge popularity because of the innovativeness of the ad as well as it
addressed the solution of the general problem regarding the consumption of
petrol on the point of its price Hike.
 Crowd sourcing :
A great marketing weapon to attract mass attention was their lately
developed tactics of crowd sourcing. It was a movement away from relying
on advertisement-focused approaches, to solve communication problems. It
involves a huge chunk of crowd irrespective of their age and income to come
together for the creation of ad content of i10 and an opportunity to share
screen space with their Brand Ambassador Shah Rukh Khan.
ONLINE AD OF HYUNDAI i10
 Online advertisements:
These forms of advertisements have grown great popularity until recently.
Generally robust coverage of the target population by the sampling frames
that are used, in particular as it applies to the “test” groups that are
sampled. Use of random systematic sampling, which yields a representative
of initially designated sample of the target population. They have helped to
understand the target group and create strategy of their segmented market
in general. Hyundai had exploited this means of communication since its
inception to popularity. It believed on expansion of medium to reach to the
targeted mass and internet’s growing Indispensability made them stick to
this medium for many years.
Since Internet is interactive, it provides strong potential for increasing
customer involvement, satisfaction and immediate feedback for buyers and
sellers. It has a great appeal to the specific needs and wants of the target
audience. Creatively created sites can have a great impact on enhancing the
company’s image. Since it is
also the Quickest means of
proving
information
and
awareness this form has a
greater
appeal
for
the
company.
 Branding:
Hyundai
Motor
India Ltd. (HMIL), the country’s
second
largest
car
manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter has engineered a
unique school connect programme ‘My Daddy, My Superstar’, quiet recently
as a celebration to honour fathers. The initiative has been conceptualised to
promote “Drive Safe” and to gratify fathers on 16th June 2013, Father’s Day.
Hyundai uses various events socially, ethically for their brand marketing.
They celebrated ‘Grandparents’ day and also carried on campaigns for cancer
as a tool to popularise through these social and cultural campaigns. Some of
the prominent advertisement tools opted for by this brand internationally
includes sponsoring the FIFA World Cup held in the year 2002. Hyundai was
one of the sponsors. Again it sponsored the FIFA Germany World Cup in the
year 2006.Hyundai has also been part of various I.C.C cricket events and big
tournaments, latest being sponsoring the Champions Trophy in England and
part sponsorship in I.C.C cricket World Cup in 2011.
OFFICIAL PARTNERS OF ICC EVENTS
Advertising, sales promotion and public relations:
So while we discussed about Advertising in the Marketing scheme of Hyundai,
we should also analyse the overall sales promotional techniques.
Hyundai Motor has scaled numerous obstacles and overcome the odds to
earn global recognition for the advanced technology and quality of its
automobiles. The company is pressing ahead to achieve its goal of joining the
ranks of the world’s elite automakers-the global top five-backed by its
sophisticated R&D capabilities, state-of-the-art production facilities at home
and abroad plus aggressive market strategies. So as long as Hyundai Motor
abides by its commitment to offer high quality products with advanced,
environment-friendly technologies which are sold through a competitive global
marketing network that takes full advantage of innovations in information
technology, Hyundai Motor’s ambition is to become one of the global top five
automakers within ten years.
Implementation of sales promotion and advertising without considering
customer complaints, consistent image on advertisement, marketing return
on investment are the most common mistake that many companies do.
Hyundai has enabled through their vast marketing channels able to provide
customer after-sales service and address the problems & needs of a middleclass income earner in the purchase of cars.
The financing of product also plays a important role in Nepal. Hence the along
with the implementation of advertising and sales promotion, financing option
will be the implemented. The exchange offer and free service of automobile
will also be implemented in order to increase sales revenue.
SEGMENTATION STRATEGY
When Hyundai Motor Company entered the Indian Automobile Market in
1996 the Hyundai brand was almost unknown throughout India. During the
entry of Hyundai in 1996, there were only five major automobile
manufacturers in India, i.e. MUL, HM, PAL,TELCO and M&M.HMIL's first car,
the Hyundai Santro was launched in 23 September 1998 and was a runaway
success. HMIL presently markets 6 models of passenger cars across segments.
The A segment includes the eon, B segment includes Santro, i10; B+ segment
includes the i20; while the entry level C-segment includes the Accent; the Csegment has fluidic Verna while the D-segment has fluidic Elantra , the D+segment includes the Sonata and the SUV segment includes the Santa
Fe,Tucson & Terracan.
Hyundai’s strategy: Produce one car each year is to maintain their cost
leadership strategy in each segment and to put their car in each segment to
compete with the other brands. It has a wide range of cars specially hatchback
cars covering all the segments starting from B-segment to D+ segment cars. So
it continuously re-launches their cars with additional features with a different
name to meet the aspirations of the customers for the latest technology at
affordable prices.
ANALYSIS OF THE BRAND-SALES AND SERVICE NETWORK
HMIL’s manufacturing plant near Chennai claims to have the most advanced
production, quality and testing capabilities in the country. To cater to rising
demand, HMIL commissioned its second plant in February 2008, which
produces an additional 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL’s total
production capacity to 600,000 units per annum. HMIL has two manufacturing
plants
in Sriperumbudur, Kanchipuram
district, Tamil
Nadu capable
of
producing 630,000 vehicles annually. HMC has set up a research and
development facility (Hyundai Motor India Engineering - HMIE) in the cyber
city of Hyderabad.
As HMC’s global export hub for compact cars, HMIL is the first automotive
company in India to achieve the export of 10 lakh cars in just over a decade.
HMIL currently exports cars to more than 120 countries across EU, Africa,
Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Australia. It has been the number one
exporter of passenger cars of the country for the sixth year in a row.
HMIL has 451 dealerships and more than 647 Hyundai Authorised Service
Centres in 340 cities across India. HMIL also operates its own dealerships
known as Hyundai Motor Plazas in large metros across India. HMIL has the
second largest sales and service network in India after Maruti Suzuki.
The main Success story behind Hyundai can be summed up since its inception
by the following points Differentiation and varieties of Santro as compared to other B class cars
available in India.
 Lower cost
 Proper market survey
 Tapping the right market and the need
 Closer to the customer
YEAR
SALES
EXPORTS
TOTAL
2011
373,709
242,330
616,039
2010
356,717
247,102
603,819
2009
289,863
270,017
559,880
2008
245,397
243,919
489,316
2007
200,411
126,749
327,160
2006
186,174
113,339
299,513
2005
156,291
96,560
252,851
2004
139,759
75,871
215,630
2003
120,325
30,416
150,741
2002
102,806
8,245
111,051
2001
87,175
6,092
93,267
2000
82,896
3,823
86,719
1999
17,627
20
17,647
1998
8,447
0
8,444
We can observe a leap in the export and production in the year 1999-2000
with the increasing popularity of Santro in the B- segment. We also observe a
huge leap in the overall production considering an increase in both exports
&domestic sales in the year 2003-04 with the re-launch of Santro by the name
Santro Xing. It was a masterstroke move that proved to be a huge success. It
decided to tap the rural market – conducted road shows.It also signed
agreement with PNB for financing its cars. These proved to be a huge success
in tapping the Latent Demand.
SWOT Analysis
Hyundai
Strength
1. The company employs about 75,000 persons around the world.
2. Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 6,000
dealerships and showrooms worldwide.
3. Hyundai sells over 1.5 million vehicles per year.
4. Hyundai has excellent branding and advertising by having
celebrity brand ambassadors.
5. Hyundai motor company has over 75,000 employees globally.
Weakness
1. Hyundai lacks cars for the ultra-premium segment.
Opportunity
1. Developing hybrid cars and fuel efficient cars for the future.
2. Tapping emerging markets across the world and building a
global brand.
3. Fast growing automobile market.
Threats
1. Government policies for the automobile sector across the world.
2. Ever increasing fuel prices.
3. Intense competition from global automobile brands.
4. Substitute modes of public transport like buses, metro trains
etc.
Santro
SWOT Analysis
Strength
1. Good dealership and brand visibility.
2. Good servicing.
3. Strong advertising.
4. The original powerful sporty small car.
Weakness
1. Old brand with lesser innovations in design and technology.
2. Perceived as a car used in the car rental industry.
Opportunity
1. Increasing purchasing power and growing target base.
2. Leverage strong brand name by more advertising.
3. Newer innovations.
Threats
1. Intense competition.
2. Government regulations and increasing fuel prices.
3. Improvement in public transport.
Accent
SWOT Analysis
Strength
1. Good dealership and brand visibility.
2. Good servicing.
3. Strong advertising.
Weakness
1. Risks associated to medium level of localization.
2. Severe competition.
3. No new innovations.
Opportunity
1. Increasing purchasing power and growing target base.
2. Leverage strong brand name by more advertising.
3. Newer innovations.
Threats
1. Intense competition.
2. Government regulations and increasing fuel prices.
3. Improvement in public transport.
i10
SWOT Analysis
Strength
1. Good dealership and brand visibility.
2. Good servicing.
3. Strong advertising.
Weakness
1. Lack of redesigning of the model.
2. Very similar to Santro and i10, no exclusive features.
Opportunity
1. Increasing purchasing power and growing target base.
2. Leverage strong brand name by more advertising.
3. Newer innovations.
Threats
1. Intense competition.
2. Government regulations and increasing fuel prices.
3. Improvement in public transport.
i20
SWOT Analysis
Strength
1. Good dealership and brand visibility.
2. Good servicing.
3. Strong advertising.
4. Brand ambassador association.
5. Powerful small car, one of the most preferred with strong brand loyalty.
Weakness
1. Comparatively priced higher in the segment.
Opportunity
1. Increasing purchasing power and growing target base.
2. Leverage strong brand name by more advertising.
3. Newer innovations.
Threats
1. Intense competition.
2. Government regulations and increasing fuel prices.
3. Improvement in public transport.
Verna
SWOT Analysis
Strength
1. Good dealership.
2. Good servicing.
3. Strong advertising.
4. Low end luxurious sedan.
Weakness
1. Weak advertising and brand visibility.
2. Intense competition in the sedan segment.
3. No new innovations.
Opportunity
1. Increasing purchasing power and growing target base.
2. Leverage strong brand name by more advertising.
3. Newer innovations.
Threats
1. Intense competition.
2. Government regulations and increasing fuel prices.
3. Improvement in public transport.
Tucson
SWOT Analysis
Strength
1. Powerful performance and control over SUV.
2. Good dealership.
3. Good servicing.
Weakness
1. Lesser power as compared to competitor brands.
2. Not too popular in the SUV segment since slightly expensive.
Opportunity
1. Increasing purchasing power and growing target base.
2. Leverage strong brand name by more advertising.
3. Newer innovations.
Threats
1. Intense competition.
2. Government regulations and increasing fuel prices.
3. Improvement in public transport.
Generic Competition
Today, companies face their toughest competition ever. Companies’ use their
understanding to design market offers to deliver more value than the offers of
competitors seeking to win the same customers. Companies must also
understand their competitors, identify and analyze their strategies to position
themselves in such a way as to gain the greatest possible competitive
advantage against competitors in the marketplace. So to gain competitive
advantage it’s important to firstly identify all its potential competition and
threats which should not be limited to its immediate brand competitors.
Competition among products that
are
different,
but
solve
the
same problem or provide the same benefit or utility is known as Generic
competition.
A generic competitor to a car in its introduction can be anything that a public
can use for transport. So it can be
 Bike, Scooters, Cycles primarily which is mostly used as a common
medium of transport.
 Autos, luxury cabs, private bus, shuttle, electric or solar runned cars in
rural areas used to travel to places. Here comfort is often compromised
with most of these mediums.
 Top of the Line Mountain Bikes, Sports cars which are relatively costly
and are generally bought out of passion and love.
 Trains, Metros provide the most common solution for office
commuters.
 Electric Cars like Mahindra Reva, Nissan Leaf, et cetera are the future of
world’s automobile are the biggest competitor to Hyundai’s fuel
guzzling cars.
 Quadricycles are for sure going to challenge Hyundai dominance in
market.
Along with these competitions from immediate rival companies and big
brands Like Maruti Suzuki, Ford, Mahindra, Renault, Tata motors pose threat
to the immediate sales of the product so these are problems (Generic
competition) which are actually faced by all industries. The competitors vary
along with the nature of competition for various products. There can be two
common Approaches in solving the problem.
Approach 1Achieve lower costs than rivals in serving a well-defined buyer segment –lowcost strategy.
Approach 2Offer a product appealing to unique preferences of a well-defined buyer
segment -differentiation strategy.
Now this was in a more general sense. To cite the major policies that can be
followed to tackle such competition Offer equally good product at a Competitor’s Strengths.
 Offer equally good product at a lower price.
 Develop low-cost edge, and then use it to under-price rivals.
 Leapfrog into next-generation technologies.
 Add appealing new features.
 Run comparison ads.
 Construct new plant capacity in rival’s market strongholds.
 Offer a wider product line.
 Develop better customer service capabilities.
STRATEGIES ADOPTED TO TACKLE COMPETITION:
As an entry strategy Hyundai motors corporation (HMC) set up its subsidiary in
India and named it Hyundai Motors India Ltd (HMIL). This was contrast to
other foreign companies who entered the Indian market by forming joint
ventures with Indian companies. HMC wanted to leverage upon the low
manufacturing and labour costs in India. Hence it set up its own
manufacturing plant at Irrungattukottai near Chennai. In contrast other
companies only established their assembling units in India.
HMIL used superior technology in its products, which gave it a competitive
advantage over its competitors. As a result Santro and Accent became the
market leaders, although they were the sole products of HMIL in their
respective segments.
HMIL also widened its portfolio by introducing one product in each segment
and also made sure that the product had a substantial market share in its
segment.
HMIL was the first company to introduce what became popular as the “pricing
based on customer value perceptions”. Based on this strategy HMIL had
introduced three models of Santro with varying features and different prices.
HMIL had its unique interacting methodology with its dealers, which gave
HMIL a better understanding of the customers.
ANALYSIS OF MARKETING MIX
 Santro : The Sunshine Car
Santro is a fine example of successful branding. It is a classic example of
successful marketing in Indian context. Santro was launched in India in 1998.
When Hyundai was contemplating its foray into the Indian market, it was
planning to launch a C segment car(Accent) . But however, Hyundai changed
its strategy and launched Santro in the tough small car market. Santro is the
Indian version of the successful Hyundai model Atos. Hyundai was faced with
lot of perception issues prior to the launch of Santro. The issue was with
regard to the country of origin. Indians were unsure about Korean products
especially automobiles. Hence the first task was t o ensure that Indian
consumers develop a positive association with Korean car maker. Second issue
was developing a corporate image for Hyundai. Since cars are high
involvement product, customers will make a choice looking on the maker,
service support, spares availability, quality etc. Hence the launch of Santro
should also launch the corporate brand Hyundai.
Third issue was about the design of Santro. Santro was designed to be a tall
boy car and initial product testing revealed that Indians didn’t like the tall boy
design. So the unenviable task for Hyundai was to make Indian consumers like
Santro.
The fourth issue was the grip of Maruti on the Indian car market. The B
segment was dominated by Zen which has proved it to be a reliable
workhorse. Zen was the preferred and logical upgrade to 800 and the car was
considered to be the most reliable and powerful in that segment. To convert
the potential Zen users to Santro was really a nightmare for any marketer.
Hyundai marketers had a tough task ahead. A lot was dependent on Santro’s
success. For the brand launch, Hyundai roped in Saatchi & Saatchi as the ad
agency. Along with the launch came the criticism. Understandably the
criticism was towards the tall boy design of Santro. There were reports which
called Santro the Ugly car. Santro answered that through its performance.
Indian consumers experienced a new way of driving comfort. More than the
campaigns, it was the performance that made Santro a runaway success.
Within 4 years of launch, Santro became the second largest selling car in India
displacing Zen. Those who wrote bad about the tall boy design began to write
about the advantages of this tall boy design.
Santro was initially positioned on the design aspect. It turned its biggest
disadvantage into an advantage. But later, Santro was positioned itself as a
complete family car. The brand was targeting those 800 users who wanted to
upgrade into the B segment. The target market was the 35-45 yrs middleclass
Indians.
All through these years, Hyundai also came out with product improvements
and upgrades. Santro Zipplus was launched focusing more on the zippy nature
of the car. But then came the competition. Maruti launched Alto and Wagon R
and came Indica which displaced Santro from the second position. The brand
was also facing the issue of looking dated. It was time for Hyundai to
reposition the brand.
Hyundai changed Santro completely in 2003. The entire design was changed
and new Santro was launched as Santro Xing. Santro Xing launch ad also
featured SRK and Kim. Santro Xing gave a new life to Santro. The car looked
more spacious and the look was contemporary. Santro along with the new
looks also changed its TG from 35- 45 to 25 -30. The brand felt that Santro
should be considered as the first car rather than the upgrade. The brand
wanted to appeal to the first time car buyers. To catch the young buyers, the
brand was positioned as "Sunshine car”. Santro roped in Priety Zinta also as
the brand ambassador.
Sunshine was communicating two intangibles: Freshness and youthful
attitude. The brand was moving to a “Change your life “positioning. Priety was
the sunshine girl. The big idea was that Santro will bring sunshine to your life.
A car that can change the life of a young Indian. As usual the campaign and the
new Santro was a big hit. Along with these campaigns, Santro also ran some
ads focusing on promoting the brand as the first choice rather than as an
upgrade. The last campaign of Santro was highlighting the virtues of a Santro
user.
The campaign was to portray Santro users as smart and intelligent and the ad
was pitted against a similar campaign of Wagon R.
After nine years of launch, Santro is facing its maturity stage in its PLC. The
sales have stagnated and price war from Maruti and a slew of launches like
Chevy Spark, have hurt the sales of Santro. Santro is also banking on price cuts
and sales promotions to stay afloat. Hyundai has recently launched a new
brand i10 to take the place of Santro. With the imminent launch of Tata's 1
lakh car in 2009, Santro may be used as a low priced flanking brand for i10 in
future.
Santro is the best example of managing a product lifecycle. Santro has
managed to keep its market position by regular upgrades, product changes,
relaunches and repositioning. It has been consistent in delivering excellent
quality and functional performance throughout its life. The brand is still a
preferred upgrade for many middleclass car users.
Santro still has lot of fuel to keep it going. But for that Hyundai may have to
keep the price down so that potential Alto users can stretch a bit and buy
Santro. There is a chance that with the launch of i10, the focus on Santro will
slowly decrease and that is a bad news for all those who love this brand.
PRODUCT
Cars were considered as convenience options and compact cars. These enter
the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs at the safety and security level and find a
place in every level above that. Relating the Needs Hierarchy to Demographic
classification in India, it was observed that the lower middle and middle
income consumers generally are at this level. Hence, the product was
designed to meet the needs of this segment of consumers. However, keeping
in mind the volume of sales needed for breaking even, there was a need to
provide additional features (add-ons) which can transform the car in to a
luxury package to appeal to business class people and the youth. Positioning
and promoting the product on the basis of the factors that motivate the
consumers at this level of the hierarchy would prove an effective strategy.
The base model of the all-new “Hyundai Santro” i.e. Santro LP was fully loaded
with a range of exciting new features. Its unique design provides the car with
more head room which allowed for easier entry and exit. Visibility became
better with Santro as the driver’s seat was higher. Also seating postures were
improved by proper economic designs of the seats. In addition to these design
features, a number of safety features like rear door locks for child safety,
collapsible steerable column, and ultra high strength steel bars for protection
against side collisions were also provided. This provided a look of stability, a
sense that it is packed with energy and ready to deliver a dynamic drive. It had
features like heater, air conditioner and power steering.
The next version of Santro i.e. Santro LE had additional features like central
locking, back wipers, power windows, body coloured bumper, remote tail gate
release and tinted glass throughout the car. The most advanced model i.e.
Santro GS has features like fog lamps, rear defogger, waistline moulding, full
size wheel cover in addition to those provided by Santro LE.
PRICE
Hyundai decided to take Maruti heads on with the pricing of their upcoming
Hyundai cars. The reason being that they believed that customers would not
be reluctant to pay a bit more for value add. The base mode of Santro i.e.
Santro LP was priced at Rs 2.89 lakhs whereas the next 2 models i.e. Santro LE
and Santro GS were priced at Rs 3.49 and Rs 3.69 lakhs respectively. The idea
was that Hyundai with their extensive service network and brand reputation
for making reliable cars should get the customer’s nod over their competition.
PROMOTION
As the strategy would be creating brand awareness, an advertising contract
with Saatchi & Saatchi was made, who then decided to use the bollywood
superstar Shah Rukh Khan. The first phase of the advertising campaign was an
ad that concentrated on introducing the car by using humour to remove the
ignorance. The second phase of the promotion concentrated on clearing any
queries that prospective buyers may have had. This was done once again
through an ad featuring Shah Rukh Khan. It mainly focused on highlighting the
car’s features. Also Hyundai promoted the car through their existing customer
base by running a “customer satisfaction campaign” which televised existing
customer’s experiences through ads. During the latter part of 2002, Santro
was repositioned as a sunshine car to target younger consumers. Once again,
new TV commercials were made to promote the repositioned Santro.
On the other hand, to tap the rural market, Hyundai joined hands with dealers
in rural areas and promoted Santro through road shows. Also to ensure that
the rural consumers were aware of the quality (which was the USP), they also
promoted through test drives.
PLACE
Santro was launched across India (both in urban and rural areas).
Hyundai Accent: What Dreams Drive
Accent is one of the highly successful long serving car brand in India. Launched
in 1999 , this brand is now on its 10th year in India. The simple fact that this
brand has survived the highly competitive market in India speaks volume
about the success of this brand. Accent, when launched competed with the
highly successful Maruti Esteem in luxury sedan market. While Esteem
perished, Hyundai Accent is still managing its product lifecycle. Accent is a
brand which has survived only because of the product performance and
quality. Frankly there is nothing to write about the marketing or branding
strategy for this brand. Accent was a highly performing work-horse which was
well designed quality product that offered excellent value for money. The
company was able to make enough changes in the price which enabled the
brand to ride the PLC effectively.
Accent now belongs to the entry level sedan market. When launched it was a
premium car. Accent was an instant success because of its product quality and
the rub-off from the success of Santro.
The company managed the product lifecycle of Accent using variants. Hyundai
regularly updated Accent by launching different variants in line with the
changing consumer expectations. There were four variants for Accent in 2002
which were GLS, GLX, GVS Tornado and viva.
One of the most successful variants was the Accent Viva. VIVA launched in
2002 was positioned as a sporty sedan. The engine was tweaked to give more
power and the variant was styled to give it a sporty look. Accent Viva was
priced at a premium and was a successful niche variant.
In 2002 , the company launched the first diesel variant of Accent. The brand
was the first one to launch the CRDI Diesel engine. Although the CRDI gained
lot of interest, there was lot of problems for the diesel variants. Ultimately the
diesel version was phased out in 2007. Accent started losing in the segment
when Ford launched Ikon . Later the segment became crowded with lot of
product launches by the competitors.
At the branding front , except for the marketing of Santro, Hyundai in my
opinion is a lousy advertiser. I don't remember any highly creative campaigns
from them for any of their products be it i10, Verna or Terracan. The quality of
creative’s for Santro also have come down drastically. They have always built
their brands on the product performance.
Accent is confused about whether it should focus on performance or image.
The taglines of Accents were
Sheer Pleasure
Expect More
The Power to Excite
What dreams drive
Even in 2008 , Accent topped the segment in customer satisfaction in a survey
done by TNS.
12 years and over 300,000 cars sold worldwide, Accent still proved to be
relevant in the Indian market. In the marketing world where brand managers
gets bored with the brand even before consumers do, Accent is a different
story altogether.
Launched in 1999, the brand is one of the oldest selling sedans in the Indian
market. Despite poor marketing support from the company, Accent once
again shows that value-for-money and product performance is the key to
unlock the purse of an Indian consumer. This brand is surviving just because of
these two factors.
Accent got little or no promotional support from Hyundai for the last few
years. Most analysts have written off this brand with a view that Hyundai will
eventually phase off this brand. But it did not happen that way. Despite being
a perceived dated model, Hyundai still sells decent number of Accent in the
Indian market. Priced between Rs 5 Lakh - Rs 5.5 Lakh, this is still the most
affordable and reliable entry level sedan in the Indian market.
One of the major factors that contributed to Accent's long run is the lack of
competition. Although many brands tried to cater to the entry level sedan
market, very few have survived. The only noteworthy competitor being the
Indigo CS. With the death of Ford Ikon, Accent's chances of survival got a
boost.
Having said that, Accent should have been given more promotional support by
the company. Brands don't die. It is often killed. Accent will die not because of
poor product performance but lack of marketing support. Hyundai never tried
to build a brand image for Accent. The brand never had a memorable
positioning. There was never an excitement around this brand and people
chose Accent through a rational decision. This lack of emotional quotient of
the brand will prove to be the reason of its eventual death.
While product performance helps bring the consumers to the brand,
emotional engagement keeps the brand live for ever. There was no attempt
from Hyundai to build any type of emotional engagement about the brand.
Hyundai recently launched the 2011 version of Accent. The brand gets a
facelift and some cosmetic changes. The launch was a muted affair and the
brand's micro-site doesn't have the new pictures uploaded. In one way
Hyundai executives were forced to keep the brand alive because of external
pressure - lack of competition and demand. Given a chance, they could have
just killed the brand! What a paradox.
PRODUCT
The new Hyundai Accent was claimed to be similar to the Japanese Mitsubishi
Lancer in terms of technology and luxury. Areas where the car had the latest
technology included remote controlled music system, engine immobilizer,
keyless entry system etc.
Also in October 2002, a diesel variant of Accent was also released which was
built using the CRDi technology. This allowed the car to be quieter and
comfortable when compared to other diesel cars in India and this was
attributed to its better engine.
PRICE
Price and Quality were the two most important factors looked upon by middle
competition; the car was priced at a lower price when compared to Lancer. It
was priced at Rs 5.35 lakhs. This was to provide luxury to consumers at a more
affordable price when compared to their competitors.
PROMOTION
Brand awareness and information about the new car were promoted more
using the print media when compared to the TV which was preferred in the
case of Santro. The idea was that as this was a higher valued product, they
intended to focus on a particular part of the consumer segment. The ads were
so developed to highlight the latest technological features being provided. On
the other hand, TV ads were used to promote the diesel variant of the Accent.
PLACE
Accent was launched across India.
Distribution Strategy:
To ensure that Hyundai was able to react quickly to changing market needs,
HMIL followed a formal and meticulous procedure for choosing dealers. The
main criteria was to select dealers who would react quickly to changing
market needs. The procedure included dealers having to give their
educational background, financial background, notes on current future trends
in the automobile industry etc. This elaborate procedure allowed choosing
those dealers through a scientific procedure that were best suitable for a
location .On the whole, HMIL followed innovative marketing strategies as they
focused more on understanding what the consumers wanted and then
promoting and placing their products accordingly.
DATA EVALUATION
We have collected primary data and contacted the stockist cum distributor &
retailer of Hyundai to gather Information and inference on the Maximum sales
of the car Variant of Hyundai of a month for 2 years respectively, 2010 and
2013.This is done to have a comparative study on the sales pattern of those
cars.
Saini Hyundai
Address: 199, Block "J",New Alipur,
Kolkata, West Bengal, 700053
Phone: 033-24009612/22409611/ 9748898601
Fax: 033-24009614
Email: sainihyundai@yahoo.co.in
Particulars
Accent
Eon
I-10
Jun-13
Quantity
0 pcs
51 pcs
52 pcs
Jun-10
Quantity
1 pcs
0 pcs
86 pcs
I-20
28 pcs
38 pcs
Neo Elantra
Santafe
Santro
Sonata
Verna
6 pcs
1 pcs
9 pcs
0 pcs
11 pcs
0 pcs
0 pcs
21 pcs
0 pcs
9 pcs
Grand Total
158 pcs
155 pcs
With the following Information we had compiled chart to evaluate the comparative
the market share of each Variant of a month (June) as a sample for the estimate.
60
sales figure of 2013
50
40
30
20
10
0
Accent
Eon
I-10
I-20
Neo
Elantra
Santafe
Santro
Sonata
Verna
Sales figure of 2010
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Accent
Eon
I-10
I-20
Neo Santafe Santro Sonata
Elantra
Verna
COMPARITIVE SALES COMPARISONS
100
90
86
80
70
60
50
40
38
30
21
20
10
0
9
1
Accent
0
Eon
I-10
I-20
0
0
0
Neo Santafe Santro Sonata Verna
Elantra
After the huge success of Hyundai Santro, Hyundai Motor Co launched
Hyundai i10 in same hatchback segment and it has gained much popularity in
Indian market since its launch in 2007. Hyundai i10 is a premium hatchback
segment model that takes place between Hyundai Santro and Hyundai Getz.
Offering quality and equipment for the customers is the key priority of
Hyundai i10. HMIL (Hyundai Motor India Ltd) makes the Hyundai i10 price very
competitive in the Indian auto market. Car is available in 3.5 to 5 lakh range
and it is giving very tough competition to all other cars of this segment. Due to
this reason mainly we observe it is the highest sold car for both the years. It
attracts a huge amount of middle-income group, majority of our population,
who aspire to have cars.
But comparing the two years if we observe, we would notice that since the
launch of Hyundai eon in 2011 and with its pricing, product richness and
quality it has grabbed a huge market from Hyundai i10 even though total sales
of Hyundai didn’t increase much. Even prices were kept between Rs.2.84-3.87
much lower than i10.This is a perfect example of self-cannibalisation for which
Hyundai has slightly shifted its production focus from i10.
FUTURE DIRECTION OF HYUNDAI
Hyundai Reveals its Ambitious Global
Strategy for 2013
Half a decade ago, not many would have
expected Hyundai to rise to such heights
but the South Korean car maker underwent
a phenomenal transformation and now has become a serious threat to fellow
competitors who have richer heritage.
Hyundai has announced its goals and modus operandi for 2013 in a
presentation to industry analysts ahead of its annual shareholder’s meeting.
Hyundai doesn’t want to rest on its laurels and wants to keep pushing further.
The most important aspect of the 2013 plans would be to have modular
platforms. The car maker would have a global portfolio of 40 vehicles out of
which 33 would be based on 6 basic platforms. The aim is to gain big on
economies of scale. In comparison, the company was using 18 different
platforms for 32 products a couple of years ago. Another hugely important
step is to reduce the product development time to just 24 months from this
year. In 2002, the gestation period was 40 months which saw a steady
reduction in the consequent years. The reduced development time would help
Hyundai save costs as well as enable it to respond quicker to the change in the
market trend.
Hyundai claims that the global utilization rate of the plants stands at a
commendable 102.7%. The global sales in 2012 stood at 4.41 million units.
While the production capacity of all the plants are expected to maintain their
status quo in 2013, the Turkish plant would be doubling its capacity this year
to 2,00,000 units per year. The extra capacity would be utilized by the
upcoming next gen Hyundai i10.
The final aspect of the strategy is to increase the average selling price of
Hyundai cars worldwide by introducing more premium and higher end
products which are now starting to gain more acceptances.
In short, Hyundai wants to improve profitability, bring in new products,
improve the brand pull and crush the competition!
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Since internet is an inevitable part we also have collected information mainly
from the following sites en.wikipedia.org/wiki
 www.slideshare.net
 http://www.scribd.com/
 http://www.hyundai.com/in/en/Main/index.html
 http://www.mbaskool.com/documents-guide.html
 www.Marketingpractice.blogspot.com
Phase 2
BRAND DOSSIER
HYPOTHESIS:
1. Hyundai Motors India Limited is one of the popular and sought after brand of
Hatchback automobile users.
2. HMIL is famous for its innovation and performance.
3. HMIL has a strong impact on Indian customers due to its ‘word of mouth’.
4. HMIL has a great impact on the minds of customer through its extensive
advertisement strategies and thus affecting the sales.
JUSTIFICATION OF HYPOTHESIS FROM LITERATURE REVIEW
 We know, Hyundai Motor has scaled numerous obstacles and overcome the
odds to earn global recognition for the advanced technology and quality of its
automobiles. The company is pressing ahead to achieve its goal of joining the
ranks of the world’s elite automakers. Hyundai sells over 1.5 million vehicles
per year.Within few months of its inception HMIL became the second largest
automobile manufacturer and the largest automobile exporter in India which
proves its popularity
 We have stated in our literature review about its marketing strategy and
technological innovation of Hyundai. It Produce one car each year is to
maintain their cost leadership strategy in each segment and to put their car in
each segment to compete with the other brands. It continuously re-launches
their cars with additional features with a different name to meet the
aspirations of the customers for the latest technology at affordable prices
 Hyundai through their vast marketing channels able to provide customer
after-sales service and address the problems & needs of a middle-class income
earner in the purchase of cars. HMIL has 451 dealerships and more than
647 Hyundai Authorised Service Centres in 340 cities across India. HMIL also
operates its own dealerships known as Hyundai Motor Plazas in large metros
across India. HMIL has the second largest sales and service network in India
after Maruti Suzuki.
 Hyundai has extensively dealt with advertisements and sales promotion to
create the strongest image on the minds of consumers better than its
competitors to stand tall and through its achievements it seems to have
achieved its goal.
LIST OF INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS TO BE RECEIVED FROM THE RESEARCH
o BRAND AWARENESS- EXTENT OF MARKET REACH AND PENETRATION
o BRAND SPECIALISATION- PASSENGER CARS MAINLY HATCHBACK CARS
o RENDERING CUSTOMER NEEDS AND ASPIRATION- AFTER SALES AND
CONSUMER SATISFACTION,CRUCIAL FOR ‘WORD OF MOUTH’
o METHODS TO REACH THE TARGET GROUP – PLANNING OF PRODUCT &
MARKETING STRATEGIES.
(INNOVATION, TECHNIQUE, COMFORT AND STYLE)
Q1. Which brand would you consider when you think of buying cars?
a. Maruti
b. Ford
c. Hyundai
d. TATA
e. Honda
Q2 Rate 1-5 (5 being very good and 1 being very low)
Maruti
Ford
Hyundai
TATA
Mileage
Style and
Innovation
Hatchback
VOM(small cars)
Sales &Service
Resale
Value(buyer’s
perspective)
Overall View
Q3 Which Brand would you go for buying your First Car?
a. Maruti
b. Ford
c. Hyundai
d. TATA
e. Honda
Q4 Which car comes to your mind when you think of Hyundai?
a. Santro
b. I10
c. Verna
d. Elantra
e. I20
Honda
Q5 Identify the tag line of the Brands
Maruti
Ford
GO FIDA
BADLE AAPKI
DUNIYA
YOU ARE
THE FUEL!
A CLASS
APART
CATCH THE i
Hyundai
TATA
Honda
Q6 Do you own a Car? If yes what car do you own?
SAMPLING PLAN
Our sampling unit would consist of both young age-groups who are either looking for
their first car or has been acclimatised to the automobile industry beforehand and
those who are already car users of Hyundai or any other brand. This would give us a
better view of the Brand Popularity as well as idea about Brand utility of Hyundai.
Our Sample size would be 48 and not more to provide greater credibility and
reliability to the results since we can face the limitation of awareness within the
campus.
Survey sampling describes the process of selecting a sample of elements from a
target population in order to conduct a survey. Basic question – answer and rating
scale is used for our survey.
DATA ANALYSIS OF SAMPLE SURVEY
Analysis of data is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming, and
modelling data with
the goal of
discovering useful information, suggesting
conclusions, and supporting decision making. With our sample questions we would
be able to infer conclusions helpful for proving our hypothesis and thereby the
objectivity of the research.
We would graphically represent this data as per the individual usefulness of the data
for our observation.
Question no. 1 – We will use Pie chart to locate the extent of preference pattern in
terms of Brand. This would reflect the popularity of the brand.
Question no. 2 – We can use the Bar graph which is a useful tool for analyzing style
and innovation,mileage,hatchback (v.f.m),resale value etc.So we compare with the
brands with a bar graph and we are also using Bar Graph to show the extent of
preference pattern in the brand itself.
Question no.3 – Similar to question 1 but we are using pie-chart to have an idea
about the preference pattern of the first time car buyer within the brands.
Question no. 4- We had use Bar graph to depict the impact of advertisement on the
minds of people within the brands.
Question no. 5- We have used pie chart to determine the preference pattern in the
different car varieties of Hyundai.
Phase 3
Summary of the findings
Q1. Which brand would you consider while you think of cars?
1
2
3
4
5
Answer
Maruti Suzuki
Ford
Hyundai
Honda
TATA
Total
Response
14
12
7
14
1
48
%
29%
25%
15%
29%
2%
100%
Which brand would you consider while
you think of cars?
TATA
2%
Honda
29%
Maruti
Suzuki
29%
Ford
25%
Hyundai
15%
Q2.
H2, H3
1
2
3
4
5
6
Ranking of car brands w.r.t parameters(5 - highest,..1-lowest )
Maruti
Ford
Parameters
Mileage
Style & Innovation
Hatchback (VFM)
Sales & Services
Resale Value (Buyer's Perspective)
Overall View
Hyundai
Honda
TATA
Mean
Mean Mean
Mean
Mean
4.13
3.1
3.51
3.15
3.48
2.88
3.75
3.79
4.21
2.46
3.69
3.19
3.46
3.15
3.15
4.17
2.9
3.55
3.38
3.35
3.73
2.96
3.33
3.27
3.04
3.79
3.38
3.49
3.9
3.13
3.72
3.18
3.528
3.432
3.096
4.5
4
3.5
3
Maruti
2.5
Ford
2
Hyundai
1.5
Honda
1
TATA
0.5
0
Parameters
H2,
H3
#
Mileage
Style &
Innovation
Hatchback
(VFM)
Sales &
Services
Resale Value Overall View
(Buyer's
Perspective)
HYUNDAI
1
2
3
4
Mileage
Style & Innovation
Hatchback (VFM)
Sales & Services
Resale Value (Buyer's
5 Perspective)
6 Overall View
1
2
3
4
5
Mean
0
1
1
1
5
2
6
3
19
14
17
18
20
20
18
22
5
11
6
5
3.51
3.79
3.46
3.55
2
0
7
4
19
22
15
18
6
5
3.33
3.49
3.528
25
20
15
Rate1
10
Rate 2
5
Rate 3
0
Rate 4
Rate 5
Q3. Which Brand would you go for, while buying your first car?
Answer
Maruti Suzuki
Ford
Hyundai
Honda
TATA
Response %
14 29%
7 14%
8 16%
16 33%
4
8%
Which Brand would you go for, while buying
your first car?
TATA
8%
Maruti Suzuki
29%
Honda
33%
Hyundai
16%
Ford
14%
Q4. Associate with the brand with their taglines.
BRANDS
Maruti
Suzuki
Taglines
Correct
Responses
You’re the Fuel
22
Go Fida
Ford
31
Catch the i
Hyundai
38
Badle Aapki Duniya
Honda
12
A Class Apart
TATA
15
Associate brand with taglines:
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Maruti
Suzuki
Ford
Hyundai
Honda
TATA
Q5. Which car comes to your mind when you think of Hyundai?
Answer
Santro
Verna
i10
i20
Other
Total
Response %
11
4
17
15
1
48
Which car comes to your mind when
you think of Hyundai?
Other
2%
Santro
23%
i20
31%
Verna
8%
i10
36%
23%
8%
36%
31%
2%
100%
Q6. How would you scale Hyundai in the ground of Advertisement and Sales
Promotion?
Answer
Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
Total
Response
%
4
18
22
4
0
48
8%
38%
46%
8%
0%
100%
How would you scale Hyundai in the
ground of Advertisement and Sales
Promotion?
Good
46%
Fair
8%
Poor
0%
Very Good
38%
Excellent
8%
Analysis:
Hyundai’s Overall View (H2 Proved)
In our survey we found out that Hyundai is 2nd in each parameter. The perception
that Hyundai has on potential Hyundai car buyers is enlightened from this survey that it’s 2 nd
largest passenger car manufacturer in India.
Thinking of car brands Vs buying first car (H1 Proved)
When people think of cars any brand can come to their mind i.e. Maruti Suzuki, Ford,
Hyundai, Honda, or TATA but while buying their first car they may consider a number of
aspects like Mileage, Value for money – Hatchback, Sales & services, Style & Innovation
which makes them think differently while actually buying their car. When they think of car
brands, the most exotic car of that particular brand might have come to their mind but
when they are actually willing to buy car they start thinking practically and the above
mentioned parameters come to their mind.
Here, in case of Hyundai the number of responses for both the questions ‘thinking of car’
and ‘while buying first car’ is almost equal.
From this we can conclude that the first time car user of our TG (20-30) years who think of
Hyundai as first car brand are in favour of buying car from the same brand as well.
Normally the first car of our TG may be sub-6lakh car so

It may be a hatchback car. This fact is further reinforced from the question
“Which car comes to your mind when you think of Hyundai?” where Hyundai i10
(hatchback) has got the highest number of responses (proved H1).
Effect of Advertisement & Promotion (H4 Proved wrong)
From the responses for Sales & Advertisement we get to know that Hyundai is
ranked 1st in ‘Association of Tag Lines with Brand’. But when we compare this with the
question ‘Which brand comes to your mind when you think of car’ we get to know that
Hyundai’s promotion doesn’t play a great role in influencing the mind of potential car
buyers.
Effect of ‘Advertisement & Promotion’ Vs ‘Word of Mouth’ (H3 proved)
Hyundai’s positioning in advertisement and promotion is ranked first but when we
compare this with the first car to be bought we infer that Hyundai advertisement and
Promotion doesn’t have a significant effect on the first time car buyers.
Here when we start comparing Hyundai’s parameter(mileage, style & innovation, Hatchback
(VFM), Sales & Service) with the first car to be bought we get to know that Hyundai is
ranked 2nd in the above mentioned parameters.
From this we can infer that the effect of Hyundai’s word of mouth is considerably
stronger than its advertisement & promotion.
Net Take Away:
Hyundai needs to concentrate more on its strength (Mileage, Value for money –
Hatchback, Sales & services, Style & Innovation) which normally spread by word of
mouth rather than advertisements. This will help it close the gap with the market
leader (Market Suzuki).