 "Manufacturing a car is a simple business, really. You take some metal, add three parts of engineering, one part of artistry, stir in a lot of passion, and proceed to craft it with care. You pour in the requisite magic with some deft word-smithy, and for garnish you add a little bit of luck."
As simple and as enticing as it sounds, the car business is not as simple as you think and yet there is no business like car business! B. V. R. Subbu, who started his career at Tata Motors and slowly climbed the corporate ladder to become the President at Hyundai Motor India (HMI), takes us through a journey of how this small car, the Santro, made a large impact on the Indian population.
Through the book, the author, who was responsible for much of Santro's success, discusses the conceptualisation of the car, its design and eventually its development and manufacturing in India to battle out the then competitor, Maruti Suzuki. He also pens a riveting account of how the Sunshine car was able to gain a foothold in the Indian car market while overcoming the many challenges of introducing a new product in a new market at a time when the sector was heavily dominated by the government owned Maruti.
From the beginning, HMI got its act right. What HMI lacked in, it made up through deft decision-making and 'common sense'. The author points to the consultant-driven approach of foreign brands and unlike other foreign automotive players, the company decided to locally procure components rather than importing them which gave them an edge in terms of costing. HMI also got its strategy right when it came to competing against Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL); while HML imitated several aspects of MUL's strategy, they did it better and more efficiently than MUL itself. The result: HML sold a million units of its Sunshine car in its segment, and became profitable from the very first year of full operations! A year after its launch, it faced strong headwinds from Tata Motors' brand Indica, but it managed to grow its customer base, as Indica found favour mostly in the taxi market.
The book recounts how Hyundai with its leadership in technology and combative communication overtook competitive automotive brands. Subbu recalls how tough HMI found to raise funds with its Korean background and the challenges he faced including the marketing campaign that featured Santro's brand ambassador, Shah Rukh Khan.
Readers are given an insight of various aspects of the business - pricing, brand positioning, dealer selection, vendor development, media relations and how a car model can help shape up corporate identity. Can one 'do a Santro' all over again? The author is convinced that while the methods of yesterday may not be relevant tomorrow, the building blocks of success remain unaltered: An organization with the humility to listen; the commitment to treat Indian consumers on par with consumers in terms of product technology and quality; the long range vision to invest in creating true capability in India; a strong emphasis on ethical conduct and transparency towards all stakeholders, and of course, a little bit of luck!
B. V. R. Subbu leaves no stone unturned when it comes to highlighting some of the dubious practices in the industry and several missed opportunities for the introduction of world-class automotive technology in the country. Automotive enthusiasts would simply love this book, while for those of you who would like to know how Santro left its mark, just hop on and take a ride!
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