Following the severe backlash and boycott trends, Hyundai India has issued another clarification on the matter in which Hyundai’s Pakistan handle put out a tweet regarding the sensitive Kashmir issue.
The first statement, which was trolled badly by the masses, looked more like a half-hearted attempt to clear up the matter. However, the second statement which has been put up on the official Twitter handle of Hyundai India provides more insight on how the post came up on the brand’s Pakistan handle.
The new post not only distances Hyundai Motor India and negating any links with the brand’s Pakistan business, but also says in strong words that it rejects the ‘distributor’s unauthorised non-business related social media activity associated with the distributor in Pakistan.”
Hyundai Motor statement:#Hyundai #HyundaiIndia pic.twitter.com/Ir5JzjS2XP
— Hyundai India (@HyundaiIndia) February 8, 2022
The full statement reads, “As a business policy, Hyundai Motor Company does not comment on political or religious issues in any specific region. Therefore, it is clearly against Hyundai Motor’s policy that the independently-owned distributor in Pakistan made unauthorised Kashmir-related social media posts from their own accounts.”
“Once the situation was brought to our attention, we made the distributor acutely aware of the inappropriateness of the action. We have since taken measures to ensure the distributor which misused the Hyundai brand identity, has removed the social media posts and we have out in place processes to prevent a future recurrence. Our subsidiary, Hyundai Motor India, is not associated with the distributor in Pakistan, and we strongly reject the distributor’s unauthorized non-business related social media activity,” it added further.
The statement also mentioned that Hyundai Motor Company has been investing in India for decades and remains strongly committed to Indian customers and that they deeply regret any offense caused to the people of India by this unofficial social media activity.
Nitizens showed a mixed set of reactions over the statement. While some settled for it, the majority questioned the word ‘Sorry’ in the statement and what action did Hyundai Motor Company take against the distributor.
This is not an apology & more so feels like a threat that, see we invest in you & hence can walk away without apologising. A strong apology would admit that POK is an integral part of India. #BoycottHyundai #Kashmir #HyundaiWithTerrorist #HyundaiMustApologise #BoycottKia https://t.co/9P3p62fy38
— Abhishek Pandey (@Abhi_pandey39) February 8, 2022
Technical but unapologetic.
Better but insufficient.
TooLate and evading.
Diverting by saying issue is "political or religious" whereas issue is sovereign Kashmir part of sovereign land.
Hyundai invests in India not for social cause but to make profit. https://t.co/8d702yscWJ
— Bhaskar Trivedi (@BhaskarTrivedi8) February 8, 2022
Some even pointed out the major dip in the company’s shares as a reason behind the issue of second statement.
The best way to deal with this is to tell Hyundai to shut their Pakistani franchise OR deal with costs imposed on them in India. Sure some Indians will be hurt (just like with TikTok), but in the larger national interest, it will be a strategic net positive. https://t.co/f5llSPoL5V
— Rishabh Mukherjee (@rishabhm) February 8, 2022
Issues like Hyundai India blocking the user accounts which raised questions on the matter were also mentioned by some users.
The outrage is for Hyundai India not acknowledging the issue & blocking the accounts in response.
You have taken - No action on your India team which behaved incompetently & you fail to acknowledge this action even in your statements. #BoycottHyudai https://t.co/wGKNO5NWq7— Harleen Kaur (@beingharleen) February 8, 2022
Hyundai was among the brands whose Pakistan handles took to social media to extend their support to “Kashmir Solidarity Day” on February 5. The day is observed by some people across the border to show solidarity and support with separatist elements working on the Indian side.
Indian Twitterati, therefore, rightly expressed their angst against the aforementioned brands as the matter is a very important and delicate one. People lost no time in rubbishing the half-hearted apology which came from Hyundai India’s side for the first time.
The matter became so heated on social media that #BoycottHyundai, along with other hashtags targeting other brands, had started trending on Twitter.