Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), on Saturday, showcased its new SUV (sport utility vehicle) Creta, which is likely to have its market launch on July 21 for the Indian market. The launch of this above-4 meter SUV will mark South Korean auto maker’s foray into mass UV (utility vehicle) segment in the country.
The new SUV, which has adopted Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design language of Hyundai, has been developed at a cost of Rs.1,000 crore. It will be produced at its Sriperumbudur car factory, and also be exported to various markets.
With close to 90 per cent localisation, Creta, which will be Hyundai’s 10th offering in the Indian market, is expected to be aggressively priced to compete against models such as Mahindra Scorpio, Renault Duster and Ford EcoSport. Final price, fuel efficiency and other details of Creta will be announced around the launch time. The new SUV will come in four variants.
Even though above-4 meter UV market is dominated by diesel models, Hyundai is planning to offer both petrol and diesel variants of Creta. Petrol variant will be powered by 1.6 dual VTVT engine, while the diesel model will have 1.6 CRDi VGT (manual and automatic transmission) engine. The engines, which have been powering models like Verna and i20, have been tuned for to provide best performance and high fuel efficiency in the new SUV. The automatic transmission with 1.6 CRDi VGT is reported to be the first of its offering in the segment. “We didn’t want to compromise space and safety by offering it in the sub-4 meter segment, and, hence, it will be little lengthier,” said Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice-President – Sales & Marketing, HMIL.
Creta is positioned between its entry SUV i20 Active and premium SUV Santa Fe, and is expected to strengthen its presence in the UV segment. Hyundai’s current share in the segment is about 0.3 per cent. UVs account for about 21 per cent of the Indian passenger vehicle market and it grew by 5.3 per cent in 2014-15.
HMIL expects its domestic sales to grow by 10-11 per cent during this fiscal, and new launches like Creta is expected aid this growth plans.
