Hyundai Struggling To Reach Sales Targets

Hyundai Motor India has said what all Indian carmakers are thinking. The country's second largest carmaker has openly stated that it will struggle to meet its sales targets for this financial year. Hyundai is not expecting this year's sales to be as robust as expected.

Speaking at the sidelines of the SIAM's HR conclave, Hyundai Motor India's Arvind Saxena has said high petrol prices and bank interest rates had severely dented sales. He added that the trend is expected to continue may be until the beginning of the festive season.

Hyundai Motor India had predicted its sales would increase by 6% to 7% for the year. However the existing market conditions make it difficult for the carmaker to achieve its target. Mr Arvind Saxena also said sales of petrol cars had suffered severely following increased petrol prices.

He said petrol price hike is one of the factors that has lead to the decrease in sales. Further, the high lending rates has also not helped boost sales. Banks have been forced to increase lending rates by the RBI. While RBI has increased interest rates to control inflation, it has inadvertently pushed down car sales.

Hyundai Motors is a predominantly petrol car manufacturer and diesel cars constitute just 28% of its sales. The carmaker has plans to increase diesel car production to match demand. Mr Arvind Saxena also said the government's plans to impose additional taxes on diesel cars would not generate expected results.