When the Hyundai Creta was launched in India on July 21, 2015, not even Hyundai would’ve expected its midsize SUV to become the runaway hit it turned out to be. Never before had India seen an SUV of the Creta’s size and price sell in five-digit numbers on a monthly basis, something the Hyundai SUV has done consistently since its introduction. It’s a handsome-looking, feature-rich five-seat SUV and continues to grow in popularity. It comes as no surprise, then, that Hyundai Creta sales have crossed the 5 lakh units milestone.
Of the 5 lakh units of the Creta sold till date, over 3.7 lakh examples have been sold in the domestic market, with the remaining 1.4 lakh units being sold in export markets. All in, it has taken Hyundai just a little over 43 months – or less than four years – to sell 5 lakh units of the Creta. On India’s UV sales charts, the Hyundai Creta has strengthened its hold on second place, only trailing the in-demand Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza compact SUV, which recently crossed the 4 lakh unit sales milestone.
The range of engines and gearboxes on offer with the Hyundai Creta means buyers have had plenty of options to choose from. In addition to a 1.4-litre diesel, a 1.6-litre petrol and a 1.6-litre diesel engine, the Creta can also be had with either a manual or an automatic gearbox – on both the 1.6 petrol and diesel versions. Unsurprisingly, buyer preference has been skewed in favour of diesel, with 2.56 lakh of the 3.7 lakh examples sold in India being the diesel variant.
Hyundai brought in the facelifted Creta last year, and rolled out more features for the SUV at the start of 2019, which has only added to its appeal. Today, the Creta has become a target for most carmakers in India. Action in the segment has hotted up in the last four years, and new models – think Mahindra XUV300, Nissan Kicks and Tata Harrier – are already wanting to take a bite out of the Creta’s market share. Soon enough, there will be midsize SUVs from established names such as Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Ford as well as new players such as Kia Motors and MG Motor. Hyundai is readying the next-gen Creta for launch sometime in 2020.
What do you think has been the biggest reason for the Hyundai Creta’s sales success? Let us know in the comments.
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