Indian Autos blog

Feeling the heat from VW Vento, mid way through the month, Honda Siel slashed the prices of the Honda City by Rs 44,000-66,000 depending on the model. The move seems to have been worked in favor of Honda, although only marginally.

In May, the Honda City only sold 1,828 units whereas the arch rival Vento sold 2,403 units. However, things are a bit different this month as City has managed to ship 2,802 units and the VW Vento has only managed 2,457 units. So the Honda City may not have dented VW Vento’s sales but has definitely hurt the SX4 (713 units) and Fiat Linea 350 units (no typos there).

However, don’t jump for joy Honda boys as the City did not reclaim its top position in the C+ Segment. The title of the king goes to Hyundai Verna which managed to ship an astonishing 4,102 units in June. That’s nearly double of what the nearest competitors have managed.

The Hyundai has managed to capture the fancy of the Indian market with its tonnes of features and rational pricing. It doesn’t seem like the Verna would let go of its segment crown very easily as it has already clocked 20,000 bookings.

However, July will see the entry of a new contender – the Global Fiesta from Ford. The Fiesta is expected to create a shakedown in the now Hyundai dominated territory. Honda Siel, in its efforts to regain its top position, is planning to give the City a small facelift in the near future.

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Is the Hyundai Verna the new benchmark in the B+ segment? The Hyundai “Fluidic” as it is colloquially referred, has set the B+ arena alight with bookings surpassing 20k. Hyundai pumped in a vast sum of money in the Verna project with expensive teaser campaigns aired during this year’s IPL cricket tournament. To keep abreast with the demand, Hyundai is working overtime to ramp up production at the Chennai factory.

A call to the local dealer gives a rough about the situation. The 1.6 MT diesel is a hot seller. Customers come in large numbers to dealerships wanting a “Hyundai Fluidic.” They end up driving out grey, black and white Vernas. Customers are spoilt for choice as Hyundai offers manual and automatic along with four engines. There’s a car for every type of customer.

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As Motoroids.com rightly puts it, the Verna is on its way to topple the German and the Japanese as it has attracted 5,000 bookings within five days of its launch.

There is more than one reason behind this enthusiastic outburst by Indians. The teaser campaign aired during the cricket games highlighting the Fluidic Scuplture design philosophy helped up the ante. The gamut of features and powertrain choices (remember IAB brought it first to you) have to be given equal credit. The Verna brand is not as strong as a City or even the Vento, but with this car, that’s set to change.

In recent times, Hyundai’ perceived as a company with almost Honda’ brand power offering vehicles at the price of a Maruti Suzuki. If the Verna goes on to clinch the title of India’ best C-Segment car, this will be made clearer.

In India, a sedan buyer’s statement to the society is “I’ve arrived.” Pricing ten variants, in a span of five lakh rupees also has proved to be a great idea as there is something for everyone. A lot of people in India are looking for an upgrade to their hatchback too.

It is normal to see people go haywire post a launch. We have to see how long it is before the excitement dies down to understand the degree of success. But for now the Verna is a buzz word on Facebook communities, forums and blogs.

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The new Hyundai Verna was launched in India yesterday and the company is taking a phased launch approach by taking to one city after another. The vehicle is been put on the market with a choice of four engines (1.4-liter petrol/diesel, 1.6-liter petrol/diesel) in the price range of 6.99-10.74 lakh rupees.

Hyundai is marketing the product with high emphasis on its fluidic design. How often do we see a company put out four engine options on a car? This is a clear sign that the company wants to break away from the hatchback-maker image.

Petrolheads Rejoice! Hyundai has finally taken the wraps of the new Verna. After being spied countless number of times on the Indian Roads, Hyundai has finally launched the new Verna with the starting price of Rs 6.99 Lakhs and goes all the way to 10.74 Lakhs for the top variant (ex-showroom Delhi). The Hyundai Verna is also symbolize the company’s new marketing tagline ‘New Thinking New Possibilities’ The other variants  [ Read More ]

Select dealerships in India have received the new Hyundai Verna which will be launched tomorrow morning in Delhi. The existing Verna, less than a year after receiving a cosmetic makeover, has been laid to rest.

Hyundai is adopting a phased launch strategy for the new Verna. After the Delhi premiere tomorrow, it will launch the car in Chennai day after tomorrow evening followed by trips to other cities.

It is almost certain that our speculation on the variants portray the actual picture. One of our Bangalore readers wrote in saying the top-end model (1.6 CRDI AT) will cost 11.74 lakh rupees (on-road). There is a lot of speculation on the prices, but in about 24 hours official prices will be revealed.

Hyundai will offer ten variants of the new Verna with four engine options (2 petrol, 2 diesel) along with the choice of an automatic transmission.

The Verna is the first of C-Segment sedans in 2011. It will be followed by the Ford Fiesta, Nissan Sunny and possibly the Skoda Rapid, currently undergoing tests.

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During the ongoing IPL cricket games, Hyundai is airing commercials teasing the new Verna. Hyundai’ new Verna will be launched on the 11th of next month. The vehicle will come in ten different variants, four engine options including manual and a four-speed automatic transmission.

Hyundai has discontinued the current Verna barely nine months after it underwent a minor cosmetic upgrade. Many customers who bought the new Verna feel cheated, as not often does a manufacturer pull out a product in less than a year after its launch.

In Part 1 we discussed or rather speculated on some of the technical specifications of the new Hyundai Verna. Today we speculate on the equipment list on the ten different variants. Remember that these are purely speculative and we have no idea of the final outcome.

Specifications : Diesel

(specification may change at the time of launch)

1.4-liter @ 90 PS (One Variant)

1. Basic Model: AC, Power steering, power windows on four doors & MP3 with USB for iPod, Turn Indicators on ORVM, Electrically Adjustable ORVM, Front Fog Lamps and Folding Key.

1.6 -liter @ 128.08 PS (Four Variants)

1. Basic Model: AC, Power steering, power windows on all 4 doors & MP3 with USB slot for iPod, Turn Indicators on ORVM, Electrically Adjustable ORVM, Folding Key, Front Fog Lamps.

2. SX Model: Basic Model Features + Height Adj. Driver seat, Rear Parking sensors, FATC, Audio remote control on STR, Bluetooth connectivity, Dual Airbag, ABS.

3. SX Option: Basic Model + SX Model features + 16” Alloy wheel, Supervision cluster, ECM, Glove box cooling, Leather Upholstery, 6 Airbags, smart key.

4. SX Option AT: SX Option features with Automatic Transmission.