No over reliance on Creta, says Hyundai, even as SUV drives Q1 volumes

The Creta has been Hyundai's volume driver over the past couple of years.

Despite the Creta contributing heavily to Hyundai Motor India's domestic volumes, the carmaker is not excessively dependent on just the popular SUV, according to the company's Whole-Time Director and Chief Operating Officer, Tarun Garg.

Hyundai sold 1,32,259 units in the domestic market in Q1 FY26. Being the country's best-selling SUV during the quarter, the Creta had the highest share in the company's domestic volumes at 36.04% with 47,662 units.

After the Creta, the next biggest contributor was the Venue at 16.88% with 22,331 units and the Exter at 12.99% with 17,188 units.

In the last couple of years, the Creta has become the most significant volume driver of Hyundai. While the SUV had a share of 26.3% with 1,61,653 units in the company's domestic volumes in FY24, it increased to 32.55% with 1,94,871 units in FY25.

At present, the Indian arm of the South Korean auto major offers hatchbacks like Grand i10 Nios, i20 and i20 N Line, sedans like Aura and Verna, and SUVs like Exter, Venue, Venue N Line, Creta, Creta N Line, Alcazar and Tucson. It also sells electric SUVs such as Creta Electric and Ioniq 5.

Replying to a question from Moneycontrol during Hyundai's post Q1 results media briefing, Garg said: "Yes, the Creta contributes 36% but then the Venue contributes a very healthy 17%, the Exter contributes a very healthy 13%, the Aura contributes a very healthy 11.2%, the Grand i10 Nios contributes a very healthy 10% and even the i20 contributes 9%."

"I do not think that there is an over-reliance on any one model. And we are very proud that in a segment which is growing so fast, we are able to maintain a market leadership. We are also very proud that even in the 10th year of operations, with so much competition coming in, the Creta remains the segment leader. In fact, across segments and even with the presence of lower-priced vehicles, the Creta was the number one model in three months from January to June," he added.

Garg said that in terms of volume rankings so far this year, the Creta is at the second position, the Venue is at 14th, the Exter at 23rd and the Aura at 27th. "So many of our models are in the top 30 out of 100 brands," he noted.

"There is a very good distribution. Even if you see hatch, sedan and SUV, we are present in all three segments. We have a very balanced portfolio. And with EVs, the Creta Electric coming in, and in the next five years, more and more models coming in, it will further complement our portfolio," he observed.

Garg also said that Hyundai has seen a significant increase in first-time buyers from only 32% in 2020 to 40% now. Model-wise, the first-time buyer penetration is 32% in the Creta, 45% in the Venue, 47% in the Exter, 46% in the Grand i10 Nios, 48% in the i20, 53% in the Aura and 30% in the Verna.

Although Hyundai's domestic volumes declined 11.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q1 FY26, Garg is optimistic about growth once the festive season starts.

"In these times when things are so challenging, we are looking for positive offshoots, and sequential numbers increase. We believe that with the August festive season kicking in West India and Kerala, we will see sequential y-o-y growth. Last year, the entire North Indian festive season was in the December quarter. But this year, Navaratri is in September and Diwali is in October. This will give a very good boost to both second and third quarters," he said.