Hyundai to produce fewer Venue compact SUVs than Creta: Launch on 21st May

Hyundai India plans to produce 8,000-9,000 units of the Venue compact SUV each month, which puts the overall production of the new vehicle slightly below the Creta. Hyundai builds around 10,000 units of the costlier Creta SUV each month. This could mean long waiting periods if demand is high. Bookings for the Venue are now officially open across all Hyundai dealerships in India.

Unveiled late yesterday in both India and New York, the Venue compact SUV will be launched here on the 21st of May. It’ll be priced and positioned under the Creta considering its sub-4 meter size. We expect prices to start from a little under Rs. 8 lakhs for the base variant, going all the way up to Rs. 11 lakhs for the fully loaded petrol automatic and diesel versions.

Currently, the Maruti Suzuki Brezza, with average sales of over 13,000 units each month is India’s best selling sub-4 meter compact SUV. The Tata Nexon is second with around 5,000 units while the recently launched Mahindra XUV300 is third with around 4,400 units. Prior to the XUV300’s arrival, the Ford EcoSport and Tata Nexon have been trading 2nd and 3rd places.

With the arrival of the Hyundai Venue in May, the pecking order is expected to change yet again. The Venue is likely to be a firm favourite to occupy second place in terms of sales in the sub-4 meter compact SUV segment. Why, the SUV could even defeat the Maruti Brezza in terms of overall numbers if Hyundai manages to price it very well.

Notably, the Hyundai Venue has a much richer feature set than the Maruti Brezza. From an electric sunroof to BlueLink connected car features to a 7 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox and an HD infotainment system, the Venue is among the most loaded compact SUVs in its segment, rubbing shoulders with the segment leader in terms of features – the Mahindra XUV300.

While the Maruti Brezza is yet to offer a petrol engine, the Hyundai Venue offers not one but two petrol engines – a 1.2 liter naturally aspirated unit with 82 Bhp-114 Nm and a 1 liter-3 cylinder turbocharged unit with 118 Bhp-172 Nm. The former gets a 5 speed manual gearbox while the latter gets a segment leading 7 speed twin clutch automatic gearbox.

The Venue is also available with a 1.4 liter turbocharged diesel engine that makes 89 Bhp-220 Nm. The diesel motor is paired to a 6 speed manual gearbox and there’s no automatic option on offer. The Brezza is better in terms of diesel, with the SUV offering both manual and AMT options.

It remains to be seen if the Venue does better than the Brezza because of the petrol engines on offer. Notably, Maruti is putting together a new petrol variant of the Brezza. The 1.5 liter petrol engine from the Ciaz and Ertiga, which makes 104 Bhp-138 Nm, will soon make its way into the Maruti Brezza. For now though, it’s Advantage Venue, going by the specification sheet at least.