Hyundai Motor India on Tuesday flagged off maiden shipment of its flagship 'Santro' brand of passenger cars to European markets of Italy, Spain and Netherlands.
The new Santro, with a premium feel, is proof that when it comes to offering latest features and with it design at competitive prices, small cars are no longer shying away from entering a territory once occupied only by larger models, says Pawan Lall.
Hyundai's entry-level Santro still packs a punch but, flanked by spunkier siblings, seems worn out.
The Korean company has sold over 1.36 million cars and has exported 535,000 units.
The CNG Santro (XK, non-AC) has been priced at Rs 325,361 (ex-showroom, New Delhi). Prices of its other variants of CNG Santro were not immediately known.
Hyundai Santro, Ford Ikon, Honda City and Tata Safari have been ranked highest in their respective vehicle segments in a study conducted by global research and consulting firm J D Power.
The car is expected to hit the road on October 23 and is being launched as Hyundai celebrates two decades in the country. Industry sources say that it will be priced at Rs 3,70,000 to stay competitive with its biggest competitors, Tata Tiago and Maruti Suzuki Celerio.
The company has so far sold about 15 lakh (1.5 million) units of Santro in the country. The new model under Santro Non-Ac are priced at Rs 2,63,000, while Santro GL and GLS are priced at Rs 3,28,000 and Rs 3,48,000 respectively. The LPG variant of Santro GL is priced at Rs 3,49,000, whereas the LPG variant of Santro GLS is priced at Rs 3,69,000.
Indian automakers are reviving legacy nameplates to leverage brand recall and stand out in a crowded market, as classic badges like Sierra, Safari, Baleno and Scorpio return to attract buyers.
In a major boost to the automobile industry, the finance minister on Tuesday cut the excise duty on small cars to 16%.
It is quite interesting to look at the cars closest rivals and how they stand against this much trusted model.
The LPG variant will be priced Rs 21,500 more than the existing petrol model. The ex-showroom Delhi price for Santro eco (GL) is Rs 354,294 and Santro eco (GLS) is Rs 373,357.
"They (Mahindra Renault) are planning to launch Sandero, which is very similar sounding to our Santro. Both are hatchbacks and Santro is an established trademark and they are trying to get mileage out of it," a senior HMIL official said.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd will increase the prices of its flagship model Santro next month due to rising input costs made by an appreciating rupee.
Market sources say the new model will be called Atos, the name under which Santro was sold in some parts of Europe. Codenamed Pa, it has been tested by the company on the Chennai-Bangalore route. The company said the new car may be priced between Santro, which costs Rs 2.70-4.74 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi) and Getz (Rs 4.90-5.25 lakh).
IPO bound HMIL, which is also from South Korea, had faced severe labour unrest for nearly a decade till the realisation -- a worker's union cannot be avoided -- dawned on it.
Tata Motors, Ford, Nissan, Maruti Suzuki, Toyota Kirloskar, BMW, Renault and Isuzu have also announced price hike from next month citing impact of increase in commodity prices and foreign exchange rates.
As other global car makers struggle in India to keep sales consistent, the Korean player has made a heady combination out of design, launches and localisation.
New car launches in the past six months have driven sales growth despite a hike in vehicle financing. In April, new launches accounted for 17 per cent of over all sales.
The new cars which have been launched in the last six months include the Zen Estilo from Maruti, Hyundai Getz diesel, Spark from General Motors, Logan from Mahindra Nissan and Fiat Palio Stile.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd on Friday increased prices of all its car models in range of Rs 362 to Rs 2,816 on account of the increased cess announced in this year's budget.
Under pressure after the instant success of Maruti's 'Swift', Hyundai Motors on Wednesday launched an offensive by reducing prices of its Santro Xing by over Rs 19,000.
Building houses and sending children abroad for higher studies is becoming common.
The fully-loaded version of the car costs around Rs 2.5 lakh and boasts of facilities, including AC, power window and centralised locking, like any other small, premium hatch-back. The fully-charged car would run for 110 km with AC switched on and another 20 kms without AC. It could give a maximum speed of 55 kmph and was likely to give a tight competition to the two-door fibre-bodied battery car Reva, introduced a few years back in the country.
Buying a three-year-old Maruti Alto/Hyundai Santro/Tata Indica and selling it two years later, results in an average cost of just Rs 50,000, according to a study on the used car market.
During floods in Kolkata, the roads were strewn with stalled Santros, engines filled up with water.
Prices of second-hand cars, mainly compact ones, have fallen 15-20% in the last few days. Dealers in the unorganised market fear a further price dip of 10 per cent when delivery starts and the Nano is seen prominently on roads. The Nano, expected to sport an on-road price of Rs 1.25-1.3 lakh for the no-frills, base version, will compete with the compact cars of Hyundai Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and General Motors.
Forget about the Tata Nano for Rs 100,000. Or buying a sleek Yamaha R15 for over Rs 97,000. An array of car models is now available at prices under Rs 100,000, thanks to an expected 20 to 25 per cent fall in used-car prices on certain models, in response to the government's decision to reduce Central value added tax (Cenvat) four percentage points for new cars.
The British Airways flight with Sabeel on board landed at the Bangalore airport at 0345 hours IST. The doctor, who was sporting a beard, was immediately whisked away by sleuths of the Intelligence Bureau through the VIP exit in a Santro car. Sabeel's mother Dr Zakia Ahmed was in the car with him.
"The retail prices have been raised in the range of Rs 7,000-12,000 across all the four variants," the company said.
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Small cars corner 77% of Indian roads, top four models grab 60%.
Eight months after it was phased out from the market, Maruti on Tuesday unveiled the new Zen sporting an all-new look and under a new name 'Estilo', pricing the base variant at Rs 3.19 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
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