The car, first introduced 26 years earlier, has since sold 11.5 million units world over. The ex-showroom price in Mumbai for the car starts at Rs 13,61,549 for petrol version and Rs 15,50,269 respectively.
With demand for executive sedans falling to 33% in the past recent months, South Korean auto giant Hyundai, which wants to increase its market share in the segment, has launched its sixth generation Elantra car.
The car, first introduced 26 years earlier, has since sold 11.5 million units world over. The ex-showroom price in Mumbai for the car starts at Rs 13,61,549 for petrol version and Rs 15,50,269 respectively.
Y K Koo, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) who was in Mumbai on Wednesday for an event related to the launch said, "There is hardly demand of 800-1000 units per month in the country for this segment. Further, the demand has fallen to over 33% during the past few months. However, with introduction of the new Elantra, we are seeking segment leadership and expand our portfolio."
When asked as why is Hyundai getting into a segment which is not showing encouraging performance, Rakesh Srivastava, a senior VP & division head of marketing and sales said, "The lack of demand in this segment may be due to lack of innovative and good products. But we want to change it with the launch of Elantra".
India's second largest automaker has pitched Elantra against six other brands in the segment which cost over Rs 10 lakh and includes cars like Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Jetta, Skoda Octavia, among others. According to an estimate by the company officials, Hyundai at present commands around 15% market share in the sedan segment which it wants to increase to about 35% in the next few years. Overall, the company has a market share of just over 17% in the passenger vehicle segment in the country and claims to be growing at around 1% every year.
Hyundai's next launch in India next year is expected to be a soft-hybrid car in the mid-range segment.
Srivastava said that with a good and widespread monsoon in the country this year, upcoming festive season including Onam, Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri and Diwali apart from the release of payments of seventh pay commission will give a boost to the auto sector in the coming months.
According to the company officials, since its launch in 1990, Elantra has evolved in its successive upgradations. The first generation of Elantras looked very different from its latest avatar.
Some of the features embedded in the latest launch include voice recognition and a 'smart trunk' that automatically unlocks and pops out when the owner stands within 3 feet behind the vehicle with the key for more than 3 seconds.
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