Hyundai Motor India has slipped to fourth place in India’s passenger vehicle market, behind Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Tata Motors. However, the Korean automaker is not too far behind its rivals.
In fact, September 2026 Vahan registration data shows that Hyundai needs only around 6,000 additional monthly registrations to overtake Tata and around 7,600 more to beat Mahindra.
Hyundai registered 50,201 units in September, compared with 56,156 for Tata and 57,817 for Mahindra. That puts the gap at 5,955 units to Tata and 7,616 units to Mahindra. This is where Hyundai’s next two launches become extremely important.
The Bayon arrives in October, followed by the HE1i electric SUV by December. If these two new SUVs click with buyers and collectively add roughly 6,000 units or more to Hyundai’s monthly volumes, the company could quickly find itself back in the fight for second place.
Bayon Could Be Hyundai’s Next Big Volume SUV
The first major weapon is the Bayon. Hyundai has positioned the new SUV between the Venue and Creta, giving it a potentially huge addressable market.
The India-spec SUV is expected to measure around 4.18 metres, making it substantially larger than the Venue while remaining smaller than the Creta. It will therefore target buyers who want something more spacious and substantial than a sub-4-metre SUV without stretching their budget to a conventional mid-size SUV.
The design will be one of its biggest attractions. Hyundai is using its Art of Steel design philosophy, with a sculpted bonnet, pronounced fenders, split LED headlamps and distinctive L-shaped DRLs. The SUV will also get dual-tone alloys, extensive body cladding and connected LED elements at the rear.
Inside, the Bayon is expected to get a modern, feature-heavy cabin with dual screens, automatic climate control, panoramic sunroof, ventilated seats, wireless charging and Level 2 ADAS. Hyundai has also confirmed a generative AI voice assistant for the SUV.
Power will reportedly come from Hyundai’s 1.5-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine with manual and IVT options. More importantly for the Indian market, the Bayon is expected to get a factory-fitted CNG option with an underbody tank. That combination could make the Bayon a serious volume generator.
HE1i Could Transform Hyundai’s EV Volumes
Then comes the HE1i, Hyundai’s upcoming affordable electric SUV. This is potentially even more important from a growth perspective. Hyundai currently has a very small presence in India’s mass-market EV segment.
In September, it registered just 792 electric cars, although that was still a 96% improvement over the 404 units registered a year earlier. The company had only a 2.3% share of India’s 35,048-unit electric passenger vehicle market.
The HE1i could change that dramatically. The sub-four-metre EV is being developed specifically for India and will be based on Hyundai’s E-GMP (K) architecture. It will take on products such as the Tata Punch EV, Tata Nexon EV, Mahindra XUV 3XO EV and Kia Syros EV.
Reports suggest Hyundai could offer two battery options, potentially around 42kWh and 51.4kWh, while the SUV is expected to offer a feature-rich cabin, ADAS and a distinctly SUV-like design.
Even reaching 1,600-2,000 EV registrations a month would more than double Hyundai’s current EV volume. A stronger response could push the number considerably higher.
For Hyundai, therefore, the Bayon and HE1i are not just two new products. They are crucial pieces of a comeback strategy. If the Bayon becomes a 4,000-5,000-unit-a-month SUV and the HE1i adds another 2,000-plus units, Hyundai could close the gap with Mahindra and Tata remarkably quickly. The battle for India’s No. 2 carmaker could get very interesting by the end of 2026.