New gen Hyundai Creta was launched in India back in March 2020, just a few days before nation-wide lockdown due to corona virus was announced
New Hyundai Creta has been enjoying a strong run since launch. Despite lockdown, Creta has managed to gather over 45,000 bookings in India. This makes Hyundai Creta the most booked car in India in the last few months – despite the lockdown.
This is all the more remarkable because unbeknownst to Hyundai, new Creta launch was scheduled less than 10 days before the country went into lockdown. What ensued has wreaked havoc on the industry, and general daily life of all and sundry.
However, things are limping along now since manufacturing ops and sales activity resumed in May 2020 under strict local and government directives. Things looked up as May 2020 sales were reported with another Hyundai car registering good interest – Creta bookings having crossed 30k at the time. Auto manufacturers are keen on potential customers, and are operating digital channels alongside dealerships to smoothen the purchase process. There’s also special finance offers curated to meet current economic conditions.
Between the first model launched in 2015, and new Creta 2020 model, Hyundai India has sold 4.85 lakh Creta in India to date. Speaking about engine option, 56 percent of 2020 Hyundai Creta booked are for diesel offerings. Currently fuel prices in the country have been on a constant rise and the price gap that used to make all the difference has become less of a gap.
The 1.5-litre diesel engine returns 113 bhp max power, and 250 Nm of peak torque. A 1.5-litre petrol engine returns 113 bhp and 144 Nm, and the 1.4-litre GDI Turbo petrol engine returns 138 bhp and 242 Nm.
All the three engines are paired to either a 6-speed manual gearbox (as standard), and iVT AT (1.5l petrol), 7-speed DCT transmission (1.4l Kappa Turbo GDi Petrol), and 6-speed AT torque converter (1.5l diesel). The AT variants enjoy equal demand and accounts for 30 percent of buyer demand.
Popular features on the 2020 Hyundai Creta variants include BlueLink connected car tech. 60 percent bookings of new Creta are with Bluelink tech. The same is true for voice-enabled smart panoramic sunroof.
Thanks to huge demand, sales of Creta have also been great. In June, the auto manufacturer sold just over 7k Hyundai Creta units. Kia Seltos sales trailed by less than 100 units. With both vehicles steadily competing with each other, no doubt remains on the success of the platform. Current purchase trends point to a reasonable wait time for both vehicles.
