Hyundai i20 N: 1/10 buyers opt for the high-performance version

With the i20 N Line, Hyundai made a rather bold move of coming up with a performance-oriented hatchback at a price of a sub-compact SUV and a midsize sedan. While it was a gamble in the budget-conscious market of India, the move has proved to be fruitful for Hyundai till now.

According to Tarun Garg’s interview with Autocar Pro, director of sales, marketing and service, the customer interest in the Hyundai i20 N Line has exceeded the company’s expectations. Initially, Hyundai had expected that the N Line variants of the i20 might command around 10 per cent of the total sales of the i20. However, thanks to the rising interest from customers in going for only top-spec models, the N Line variants have managed to meet Hyundai’s expectations. And it’s not going to stop there itself, for the demand for N Line variants will only increase in the coming times.

Hyundai introduced the i20 N Line at the beginning of September 2021. The carmaker hasn’t announced the number of N Line variants of the i20 sold to date. However, Hyundai managed to sell 9,567 units of the i20 in September and October combined. If going by Hyundai’s claims of one N Line variant for every ten units of i20 sold, Hyundai might have sold a total of 1,000 units of the i20 N Line to date.

Also read: Tata Altroz and all-new Hyundai i20 compared on video

More people going for the N-Line

According to Garg, the excellent response which the Hyundai i20 N Line has been receiving is due to the emerging trend of customers going for higher trims, rather than settling for less-equipped lower variants. It is a trend that is common across the entire portfolio, irrespective of the model. The shift towards higher-spec models is seen more in urban markets, where the latest comfort and convenience features and technologies are prioritized higher. This trend is even stronger for the premium models like Creta and Verna, where the share of high-spec models has surpassed 90 per cent of the total sales of those models.

As far as the i20 is concerned, the share of higher-spec variants has gone up to 36 per cent of the total sales of the premium hatchback. The N Line variants, which are currently the most premium and well-equipped models in the i20’s variant lineup, are also included in this increased share. Urban customers are liking the premium features which the Hyundai i20 is offering in its category, like wireless charging, sunroof, air purifier, Bluelink connected car technology and six airbags.

Garg also claimed that the demand of customers for Hyundai’s offerings is increasing, despite the ongoing shortage of semiconductors globally. Due to this issue, Hyundai has also been facing production constraints, due to which its wholesale figures dropped significantly in recent months. While the production of the vehicles was limited during the festive season, there was a major boost in enquiries for all of its models. Hyundai is keenly working on this situation and will come up with an optimal solution in the coming times to ramp up the production back to normalcy.

Also read: India”s first Maruti Baleno with “air suspension” looks gorgeous (Video)