India's sub-4meter sedan market is to get hotter with Hyundai and Tata Motors planning their own models that will be launched in 2014.
An Economic Times report quotes Rakesh Srivastava, senior VP, sales and marketing, HMIL confirming the existence of a Hyundai compact sedan stating that the new product would be a "strong choice" for a customer looking to shop in this segment.
Hyundai's plans a sub-4meter sedan based on the successful Grand i10 platform and a test mule of this Grand i10 sedan has already been spied by our keen-eyed readers. It is likely to be launched on February 4th this year. Tata Motors is also likely to launch its Falcon sedan soon, the report says.
The sub-4meter market is still ruled by Maruti Suzuki's Swift Dzire - launched way back in 2007 and it managed to become the most sold car in India in the month of May 2013 - despite heavy competition coming from the Honda Amaze. Volkswagen had also hinted at a sub-4meter sedan based on the Up! platform for emerging markets.
After the launch of the Honda Amaze in April 2013, the sub-4meter sedan segment has grown by a whopping 27 percent, compared to a CAGR of 7-8 percent for the period between 2007 and 2012 for the entire segment. Monthly average volumes have grown from 20,000 in 2010 to around 31,500 in 2013. The Swift Dzire has pretty much handheld this segment, despite some level of competition coming in from Tata Motors in the form of the Indigo sedan.
The sub-4meter segment is only likely to get more competitive in 2014 with launches from Hyundai and Tata Motors.
[Source - Economic Times]
