Customer Logins
Obtain the data you need to make the most informed decisions by accessing our extensive portfolio of information, analytics, and expertise. Sign in to the product or service center of your choice.
Customer LoginsHyundai to offer automatic variants of Creta and Elite i20 in India, eyes higher share of premium segment
Hyundai's move to introduce automatic transmission variants of the Creta and the Elite i20 hatchback in India is required to address changing consumer preferences and competitors' inroads in this direction.
IHS Automotive Perspective
- Significance: Hyundai plans to introduce additional automatic transmission variants of its Creta sport utility vehicle (SUV) and Elite i20 hatchback in India.
- Implications: The automaker is also looking to expand its market share in vehicles with price tag in the bracket of INR1-2 million (USD15,100-30,200).
- Outlook: Hyundai's well-developed line-up of small cars means that the next opportunities for the automaker are necessarily outside of its traditional area of focus. We foresee Hyundai coming up with a C-segment MPV in mid-2017, which will put it in competition with Toyota, General Motors, and M&M.
Hyundai plans to introduce additional automatic transmission variants of the Creta sport utility vehicle (SUV) and the Elite i20 hatchback in India, reports the Financial Express. Although the Creta is currently offered with automatic transmission mated to a 1.6-litre diesel engine, the hatchback is without automatic transmission. A Hyundai spokesperson reportedly said, "There is an open space for introducing an automatic transmission in petrol (gasoline) in the Creta… we have got strong inputs from our dealer partners and there are considerable enquiries for a petrol automatic. He added, "Similarly, we are also looking at introducing the Elite i20 automatic in petrol [version]."
More launches in premium segment
The South Korean automaker is also aiming to boost its market share in India in vehicles with price tags in the bracket of INR1−2 million (USD15,100−30,200). "Creta has become the highest-selling product in the above INR1-million category in India. We have been well accepted and now we would like to have a leading position in the INR1 million to INR2 million price point," Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) senior vice-president for sales and marketing Rakesh Srivastava told the Press Trust of India (PTI). The automaker plans to launch two new products in the segment this financial year to bolster its market share. "Besides Creta, which is there, we plan to launch Tucson and one another model this year to have a leading position in the INR1−2 million segment," said the executive, without disclosing the name of the new vehicle. Srivastava said the automaker will not be launching any new "volume model" this year.
"We aim to close the current fiscal with 470 dealerships and 1,170 workshops. We don't want to go too fast as we want to grow profitably along with our channel partners," Srivastava said.
Outlook and implications
Hyundai currently offers its products in India through a network of 445 dealerships and 1,100 workshops. The company plans to increase these figures to 470 dealerships and 1,170 workshops by March 2017. As such, the plan to offer automatic variants of its existing models is a step in the right direction. The financial year 2015/16 was eventful for the company, which launched the Creta compact SUV in July 2015. Based on the PB platform, which also underpins the next-generation i20 hatchback and Verna sedan, the Creta is Hyundai's first B-segment SUV in India.
The Creta's compact dimensions − length of 4,270 mm, breadth of 1,780 mm, and height of 1,630 mm − positioned it in the increasingly popular compact SUV segment and the vehicle has proved to be a popular for the automaker. The popularity of Hyundai's offering in the niche segment highlights the crucial role of its sales and aftersales network, which allowed it to negate the first-mover advantage Renault and Ford enjoyed. Apart from the domestic market, the Creta is exported to 92 countries from India.
Similarly, the Elite i20 has emerged as a legitimate competitor to market leader the Maruti Suzuki Swift. According to IHS Automotive estimates, 130,000 units of Hyundai's hatchback were sold in 2015, marking a sharp surge from 45,100 units in 2014, although both figures are not comparable as the vehicle was introduced in August 2014.
Apart from increasing the appeal of its products among buyers, Hyundai's move was required to address changing consumer preferences and competitors' inroads in this direction. Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), as well as Tata Motors are increasingly offering semi-automatic transmissions in their models. The semi-automatic transmission option, which comes at a fraction of the cost of its fully automatic counterpart, has become popular among buyers.
Meanwhile, Hyundai's well-developed line-up of small cars means that the next opportunities for the automaker are necessarily outside of its traditional area of focus. Among the new models from the Hyundai stable, the Tucson will be positioned between the Creta and the Santa Fe. The automaker is believed to have put its plans for a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) on the backburner for now, although there appears to be a strong business case for Hyundai to expand into the segment . We foresee Hyundai coming up with a C-segment MPV in mid-2017, which will put it in competition with Toyota, General Motors, and M&M.
About this article
The above article is from IHS Automotive Same-Day Analysis of automotive news, events and trends, and is a deliverable of the World Markets Automotive Service. The service averages thirty stories per day and also provides competitor and country intelligence. Get a free trial.