Hyundai India, it seems, is all set to go premium, and no, we’re not talking about cars, but rather dealerships. Taking a leaf out of Maruti Suzuki’s book, the South Korean automaker is planning to soon set up premium dealerships, similar to the Nexa range from Maruti. These dealerships will be standalone units, and will sell Hyundai’s upcoming premium cars, such as the Tucson Facelift, Elantra Facelift, the all-new Santa Fe, the Kona electric SUV and another electric vehicle earmarked for India. In due course of time, more cars are expected to be added to the new Hyundai chain of premium dealerships.
Existing Hyundai dealers are likely to be given the option of setting up the premium dealerships. The recruitment process for personnel who will man the premium Hyundai dealerships is said to have already begun. Hyundai is said to be targeting a 2020/2021 roll out of these premium dealerships. Hyundai will be the third mass-market car maker in India to go the premium route to sell specific models. While Maruti already has the well-established NEXA network, which was introduced in 2014, Mahindra has made a recent announcement about having a separate dealership section called ‘Prime’, to sell its expensive SUVs.
Globally, Hyundai has the Genesis brand that it uses to sell premium cars that compete with Audi and BMW cars. This brand may also be introduced in India at a later date. For now though, the focus seems to be on giving people upgrading from the Verna and Creta, a much more premium experience by establishing the new range of premium car dealerships. Hyundai is likely to target the Rs. 20 lakh plus segment with the new dealership range. Buyers who are paying more than Rs. 20 lakh for a car do expect a much better experience. More details on this front are expected to be revealed in the coming months.
Via Team-BHP
