The Hyundai Creta facelift has crossed the 1 lakh sales milestone in just six months since its launch in January. The company has been selling an average of over 15,000 Cretas a month, with peak sales of 16,458 units in March. Last month, it sold 16,293 Cretas; the daily average stands at over 550 units, claims Hyundai.
- Average waiting period for a Creta is about 10 weeks
- Hyundai announced the 10-lakh sales milestone for Creta in February
- Rival Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara took a year to sell 1 lakh units
The Creta sits in one of the most crowded segments with over half a dozen credible rivals, such as the Maruti Grand Vitara, Kia Seltos and Toyota Hyryder, which makes its milestone quite commendable. For reference, the Maruti Grand Vitara, which trails the Creta in sales, achieved its 1 lakh sales milestone in one year. Meanwhile, the Creta’s sibling, Kia Seltos, sells about 6,500 units monthly.
Hyundai has sold over 11 lakh Cretas so far in India. In February, it announced the 10-lakh sales milestone for the SUV. Each of the last three 1-lakh milestones has come in about eight months, suggesting that the facelift has accelerated sales.
More recently, SUVs from a segment below, such as the Hyundai Exter and Maruti Fronx, also crossed the 1 lakh sales milestone but took 12 months and 10 months, respectively. This shows that the market is maturing towards more expensive and premium models. Despite being one of the more costly SUVs in its segment, the Creta has consistently held its value and appeal.
Analysing Creta’s success
The Creta’s success can be attributed to two primary factors. Firstly, Hyundai understands the Indian audience very well and has accordingly equipped the Creta with features that buyers really care for, such as a panoramic sunroof, ventilated seats, large digital screens and a 360-degree camera; features like the ADAS suite are an added bonus.
Secondly, the Creta has diesel variants, which still constitute a fair chunk of sales in the midsize SUV segment. Nearly every other manufacturer has exited this space, which means the Creta and its sibling Seltos have the diesel audience all to themselves. A plethora of other petrol engines and gearbox options further diversify the appeal. Meanwhile, the sportier Creta N Line hasn’t been a volume generator, but it does help build the brand image.
However, the high demand has also resulted in a sizeable order backlog. Last month, we reported that the Creta had about 33,000 pending orders. The average waiting period is 10 weeks.
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Viraaj Bhatnagar
Uday Singh
Suraj Viswanathan
