Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) has announced plans to introduce a new mid-size SUV during the upcoming festive season, aiming to strengthen its presence in one of India's fastest-growing passenger vehicle categories. This strategic launch is also expected to support sales recovery following a production disruption in the first quarter of fiscal year 2026-27 due to a fire at a parts supplier.
Tarun Garg, Managing Director and CEO of Hyundai Motor India, confirmed the launch during a conference call, stating, “The new mid-size SUV is planned for launch during the festive season, and I'm sure this will further strengthen our SUV offering and accelerate our volumes meaningfully in this high-demand segment.” While the name of the vehicle remains undisclosed, it is confirmed to compete directly within the high-volume Creta segment.
Dedicated EV and Production Boost
Alongside the new SUV, Hyundai also confirmed the introduction of a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) later this financial year. This EV will be an entirely new model, designed to compete in the Venue-size segment, rather than an electrified version of an existing internal combustion engine model.
These new offerings come as Hyundai seeks to regain momentum after a June fire incident at a supplier's facility led to a production loss of approximately 13,900 units. The company reports having recovered most of this lost production in July and anticipates fully making up the shortfall in the second quarter.
Expansion and Market Outlook
SUVs continue to be a significant growth driver for Hyundai, accounting for 70% of its domestic sales during the June quarter. The company also highlighted record quarterly domestic sales for the all-new Venue.
To support growing demand and new launches, Hyundai will initiate a third shift at its Pune plant starting October 2026, accelerating its capacity expansion by nearly two years from the original 2028 timeline. This move will increase the Pune plant’s annual capacity from approximately 120,000 units to 170,000 units. The Pune facility exclusively produces the new Venue globally, serving around 35 markets worldwide.
Hyundai's Chennai manufacturing plant, which will produce the new mid-size SUV and the dedicated EV, has an installed annual capacity of 824,000 units. Utilization at the Chennai plant had dipped to about 83% in FY26, but the company expects it to rebound to nearly 90% as production of the new vehicles ramps up. Despite ending FY26 with a market share of 12.3% (down from 13.5% in FY25), Garg expressed optimism, stating, “We should be able to beat that in FY27.”