Hyundai India’s January Sales Remain Static Despite New Santro

Car manufacturers in India are witnessing a decline or a flat in domestic sales in January 2019. Rising vehicle prices, weaker buyer sentiment remain the reason for low sales of passenger vehicles last month. Hyundai Motors India reported a marginal increase in domestic sales.

Hyundai had recorded a sale of 45,803 units in January 2019 compared to the 45,508 units in January 2018 which is just 295 units more than what Hyundai sold the same month last year. Hyundai Motors India Ltd National Sales Head Vikas Jain said,

January 2019 started on a cautious note, however, the company registered all model growth on account of strong performance by all new Santro, Grand i10, Elite i20, Verna and Creta.

Hyundai had launched the new Santro last year in India and the hatchback had received an overwhelming response from the customers. Hyundai has not revealed the exact number of Santro’s sold in January. Even after the launch of new Santro, the sales figures for Hyundai in January 2019 remain more or less the same as that of January 2018. Compared to December 2018 Hyundai had sold 3,710 units more in January 2019.

The new Santro is based on a new platform that underpins the Grand i10. The hatchback has grown in dimensions compared to the older generation and is now more spacious on the inside as well. On the inside the new Santro is feature loaded, it gets a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system which supports Both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It also has a dedicated rear AC vents for the rear passengers.

The new Hyundai Santro gets a 1.1L, four cylinder petrol engine which produces 68 Bhp of power and 99 Nm of torque. The Santro comes with a 5 speed manual and an optional AMT gearbox. Hyundai Santro faces direct competition in market from cars like recently launched all-new WagonR, Maruti Celerio and Tata’s Tiago hatchback.

Hyundai is also developing a newer generation Grand i10 and it has been caught testing under heavy camouflage a couple of times. It is based on an all-new platform and Hyundai is likely to launch the new model in International market by the end of this year. The new Grand-i10 is most likely to be powered by the same set of 1.2L petrol and 1.1L diesel engines which will meet the upcoming BS VI emission norms. In India Hyundai Grand i10s main competition is Maruti Suzuki Swift.