Since its launch in late August the new generation Hyundai Verna has been burning up the sales charts. After a very robust order book in its first week, and a stellar first month, the compact sedan has now notched up big sales in October too. The car sold over 5000 units in October, leading its segment once again two months running. It helped Hyundai get close to 50,000 units in the festive month. Overall the Verna has now taken in 20,000 bookings and according to Hyundai Motor India, has generated 150,000 enquiries. Given the size of the segment it operates in – those numbers are massive. “We are extremely grateful to the Indian consumer for their trust in brand Hyundai. The Verna is a global product that personifies Hyundai’s Modern Premium brand, and a landmark in Hyundai’s growth story,” said Y K Koo, Managing Director and CEO of Hyundai Motor India.
What has been a pitched battle between the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and Honda City has now become a three-way fight. Interestingly the Verna’s lead comes in a month where the City crossed 7 lakh cumulative sales in India since 1998. The City received its major mid-cycle facelift at the start of 2017, while the Ciaz is now ageing rapidly, with no facelift still from the market leader. The compact sedan segment usually clocks around 12-14,000 units sales on a monthly basis. The Verna’s arrival – as also the festive season coinciding it – have sent that number into the 20,000 units range. The expansion of the segment is surprising as it’s a space that has not seen very much growth off late due to the arrival of more and more compact SUVs.
The new generation of the Verna was launched in August this year
The statistics for the Verna are also interesting, as the car has seen 20 per cent of its sales coming from first time car buyers according to the Korean company. And with Hyundai offering automatic transmission options on petrol and diesel – as well as multiple AT variants for both, 25 per cent of Verna bookings are for the automatics. Overall more than half the orders have been for the higher variants that are loaded with features like ventilated seats, touchscreen infotainment and connectivity, a sunroof, and climate control.
Hyundai announced at the launch that the introductory price will be capped till 20,000 units
Hyundai will aim to complete delivery of 20,000 Vernas by the end of November 2017. It may be recalled that the attractive pricing on the Verna at launch was to only be offered for the first 20,000 units. For now Hyundai says it may not increase prices right away – and so expect a price revision on the Verna only around January. That will take the order book well past the 20,000 mark though. Hyundai India has also received an order for 10,501 units of the Verna from the Middle East, and it will begin shipping those cars out immediately. It hopes to satisfy the order by the end of this year. The Verna will also be exported to other Asian countries and to South Africa at the start of 2018.
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