Hyundai launched the Exter subcompact SUV in India on July 10 at an introductory price of Rs 6 lakh (ex-showroom, India). In a recent interaction with Autocar India, Tarun Garg, COO at Hyundai, said that the Exter has accumulated over 16,000 bookings since bookings opened in May.
- Hyundai Exter AMT has the highest waiting period
- Manual and AMT versions see higher bookings
- Hyundai Exter offers many segment-first features like sunroof
Hyundai Exter bookings, waiting period
Talking about the bookings for the Exter, Garg mentioned that since launch, “bookings are coming at a rate of 1,800 per day.” He added, "Almost 38 percent [of the bookings] are for the AMT, 22 percent are for the CNG and 40 percent are for the petrol manual versions.” This means that the bookings for the automatic and manual versions are split almost equally.
Our dealer sources have confirmed that the waiting period for the Exter goes up to 12 weeks, depending on the variant. Exter manual and CNG variants have a waiting period of around six to eight weeks, while the automatic versions range between 10 to 12 weeks. So, despite the higher number of bookings for the Exter manual, it is the AMT-equipped versions that command the highest waiting period.
Hyundai Exter rivals
The Exter competes with the likes of the Tata Punch, Citroen C3 and Maruti Suzuki Ignis. Since May, when the bookings for Hyundai's subcompact SUV began, the Punch has sold more than 22,000 units. In the same period, Exter’s other two rivals – Citroen C3 and Maruti Suzuki Ignis – have sold far fewer units. The Citroen sold nearly 1,500 units, while the Maruti sold nearly 8,900 units.
Also see: Hyundai Exter video review
The Exter, which is expected to give the segment's bestseller Punch stiff competition, comes with equipped with many segment-first features. Besides a CNG powertrain option, it gets a voice-enabled sunroof, dashcam, six airbags as well as ESC as standard across the range.
Garg expects the subcompact SUV segment to double from its monthly sales of 10,000-11,000 units. He said while he can't say how many monthly unit sales the Exter will manage, "we can clearly see that it is going to be a volume churner for Hyundai.” He attributes this to the shift in consumer demand from hatches to SUVs in the last three to four years.
Also see:
Hyundai Exter vs Punch vs C3 vs Ignis: price, specifications compared
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