Will Elantra help Hyundai whip competition?

It has been a busy 2012 for Hyundai. It started with the India launch of the Sonata and the facelift for the i20. Earlier today, Hyundai Motor India launched the Elantra. Available in both manual and automatic transmission with petrol and diesel variants, the Elantra has been launched at a price of Rs. 12,51,000 (ex showroom) for the base petrol variant and Rs. 15, 85,000 for the top end diesel variant. The company says this is an introductory price. Catering to the Indian car buyer’s love for features, the car offers quite a few features, that are a first for this segment- like Parking assist, Cooled seats (for both driver and passenger), Silica tyres and Solar glass.

Hyundai expects that the Elantra will help it beat competition from the Toyota Altis and Chevrolet Cruze. Company officials hope to emerge as segment leaders. Expect the car to liven up the D1 segment sedan space which hasn’t been doing all that well. While the C2 sedan segment, with cars like the Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Volkswagen Vento, has seen robust growth, sales in the D1 segment have fallen about 20 percent in the last 17 months. I urge you to read the fascinating discussion on ‘the diminishing value of D1 sedans’ at Team BHP here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/122525-diminishing-value-d1-segment-sedans-altis-cruze-civic-laura-et-al.html

Back to Hyundai, it is interesting to note that in the last decade the company has emerged as a full-line car company in India. From the Eon small car to the popular Verna and the not so popular Santa Fesports utility vehicle, the company has a fresh offering in every segment. Its market share has constantly hovered in the region of 18-21 percent  in the last five years. As the country’s second largest car maker, one would have expected Hyundai to be a lot more aggressive and take the competition to Maruti Suzuki. That has yet to happen.

The thoughts and opinions shared here are of the author.