Hyundai Xcent gets off to great start

Hyundai’s Xcent has managed to beat the slowdown plaguing the automobile industry. The new sedan from the Korean carmaker sold 6,663 units in April, its first full month of sales. Overall passenger car sales, however, saw a fall of 10 percent in the same period. A recent slash in excise duties that was expected to improve buying sentiment has also failed to buoy demand for new cars.

Those interested in buying the Hyundai Xcent will have a brief waiting period. The base petrol variants and the petrol automatic variants have a waiting period of one month; those going in for the mid-level petrol and diesel variants will have to wait for 45 days; and there is a two month waiting period for the high-end petrol and diesel models.

On the other hand, the Hyundai Xcent’s hatchback sibling, the Grand i10, launched in September last year, sold 9,162 units in the month of April, heralding a formidable duo from the Korean carmaker.

Maruti Suzuki’s overall tally fell 12 percent. The Alto, its perennial top-seller sold 16,763 units, a few hundreds ahead of the Dzire, which sold 16,008 units. The Swift came third in Maruti’s selling 15,874 units sold. The much-in-demand Celerio, whose waiting period now extends to early 2015, sold 5,805 units.

In the mid-sizers, the Amaze dropped to its lowest in the current calendar year with 3,355 units. In the C segment, the new City continues its successful run with 7,038 units sold.

Among SUVs, the Mahindra Scorpio sold 4,092 units, ahead of the Ford EcoSport which sold 4,013 units and the Duster which sold 3,153 units.

BRIAN DE SOUZA

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