Hyundai looks at 'double engine' boost on growth

New Delhi: With the GST rate cuts expected to bring domestic sales back on a growth path, Hyundai Motor India Ltd is looking to ride on a 'double engine' drive of accelerated sales in the home market and continued momentum in exports, according to a top company official.

In the last six to eight months, when the domestic market was slightly sluggish, the company had pressed the accelerator on exports in contrast to the last few years when the focus was on meeting demand in India due to capacity constraints, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Whole-time Director and Chief Operating Officer Tarun Garg said in an interaction.

The company's domestic sales in the April-August period this fiscal were down 11.2 per cent at 2,20,233 units as against 2,47,992 units in the same period last fiscal. On the other hand, exports in the April-August period this fiscal grew by 12.45 per cent at 80,740 units as compared to 71,800 units in the year-ago period. "We have been very strong in export, but in the last few years because of capacity constraints, the focus was more on domestic.

However, when the (domestic) market was slightly sluggish in the last six to eight months, we pushed the accelerator on exports, and that is the flexibility we have," he said. Stating that the "GST 2.0 reform could really give a fresh impetus to the economy and especially to the car industry", he said the company expects domestic sales to bounce back with both rural and urban markets accelerating.