Hyundai Creta is the best selling SUV in India currently – with a waiting period up to 12 months
Launched in 2015 in India, Creta’s popularity has soared phenomenally over the years. Market response has been even more overwhelming ever since the next-gen model was launched last year in March. Even during the lockdown period, Creta had managed to beat industry trends by clocking bookings in excess of 55k units. By October 2020, Creta bookings had crossed 1.15 lakh units.
Increased waiting period
While a higher number of bookings bring cheer to the carmaker, it also presents challenges in terms of meeting production and delivery timelines. This is exactly what seems to be happening with Creta, as some of the variants have waiting period of up to 12 months. According to the company, Creta diesel variants are more in demand, as compared to petrol variants. The approximate ratio is 60:40 for diesel and petrol variants.
Update 8th Feb 2021 – Hyundai Creta E Diesel variant is now back on the official website of the company.
Creta diesel base E variant
At the time of its launch, next-gen Creta was offered in five trims – E, EX, S, SX, SX (O). The base diesel E variant is now no longer available on Hyundai India online car buying website – ClickToBuy.
This could be due to the fact that waiting period for base variant was highest at around 11 to 12 months. This would have dissuaded customers from booking the base variant, resulting in low demand. By removing diesel E variant, Hyundai can focus on other variants that will fetch higher revenue.
Creta E Base diesel variant has only been removed from the online website. But bookings are being accepted at select dealerships. Some dealers who are accepting bookings for the base diesel E variant, are asking customers to pay the full on-road price in advance, and wait 11-12 months for delivery.
Creta petrol base E variant is still available and it is the cheapest at Rs 9.99 lakh (ex-showroom). All Creta variants can be booked by paying a token amount of Rs 25k. Customers can ether visit their nearest Hyundai showroom or book online via the company’s ‘Click to Buy’ platform.
The online platform allows customers to select and preview a number of personalization options such as colour and accessories. They can also choose from available finance options, special offers, warranty, car exchange and delivery options.
Problem of plenty
Creta is not the only car in the country to experience high waiting period. The Indian auto sector is in a boom phase currently, where customers are willing to spend on the right product. We can take the example of Mahindra Thar, which has also received an overwhelming response. For some customers, the waiting period is around 9 to 10 months. Even then, bookings continue to pour in.
Similarly, other cars with high waiting period include Nissan Magnite (up to 8 months), Kia Sonet (~ 5 months) and Hyundai i20 (~ 3 months). All these carmakers are taking special measures to reduce waiting period, so that sales could be increased and more room can be created for new bookings.
