Hyundai car sales to remain 'flat' in NE this year

Company further feels the decision of SBI to raise salary limit for auto loans to Rs 6 lakh would "seriously" affect North-East's auto sector

With automobile sales continuing to decline against the backdrop of economic slowdown, Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), country's second largest car-maker, expects car sales to remain "flat" this year in North-East.

The company further feels the decision of State Bank of India (SBI) to raise salary limit for auto loans to Rs 6 lakh would "seriously" affect North-East's auto sector.  

"Situation is getting tough. The steady hike in fuel prices and interest rates are further affecting car sales," said Satinder Singh Bajwa, senior general manager (sales support group) of Hyundai Motor India Limited, while talking to Business Standard on the sidelines of the launch of a new car - Grand i10 here today.

Last year the company saw a growth of 29 per cent (in terms of total cars sold) as compared to the previous year.

But Bajwa said this year the company did not expect any growth in terms of sales and "believes" to "sell as many cars" it sold last year.

The company sold 14,398 cars in the region last year (January to December), with Assam accounting for around 40 per cent of sales.

Bajwa said the SBI's decision to raise salary limit for car-loan will have a cascading effect in North East.

"Most of the auto customers in North-East are State Bank's customers. This decision of SBI will seriously affect automobile business here," said Bajwa.

In order to limit its exposure to automobile sector, SBI had recently raised the minimum salary requirement for car-loan to Rs 6 lakh (gross) per annum from Rs 2.5 lakh (net) earlier.

The new car - Grandi10, launched today, has been designed at Hyundai European design centre in Germany using design cues of Hyundai's globally acclaimed 'Fluidic design' theme.

"The Grandi10 has been developed for the Indian market to cater to the needs of the evolved compact high entry buyers who values style, space, economy and technological features," said Bedabrata Bordoloi, regional manager (North-Eastern region) of HMIL.

The newly launched car will be available with two engine options - the 1.1 litre advanced U2 CRDi diesel and 1.2 litre Kappa Dual VTVT petrol.