Slowdown blues fail to beat Hyundai Creta, Jeep Wrangler

While the Indian automobile market is bleeding, there is no slowdown for new car models like the all new Hyundai Creta SUV priced between `9.90 lakh and `17.20 lakh and the imported Jeep Wrangler Rubicon SUV priced at Rs 68.94 lakh.

South Korean car maker’s total booking crossed 14,000 units out of which 10,000 units were booked within a week of bookings opening on March 2 with a down payment of `25,000.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the world’s eighth largest Italian-American automaker, in a statement on Monday said its first batch of the imported Jeep Wrangler Rubicon SUVs launched on March 3 have been sold out in India in record time.

“We have ordered a second batch with more vehicles to meet rising demand for the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon,” the company said, adding that the sales were in double digit.

Similarly, the Skoda Auto Volkswagen sold out its allotted 200 units of the new Skoda Octavia RS 245 priced at `36 lakh.

The performance-specced Octavia, which was launched in India at the Auto Expo 2020 in Delhi was opened for bookings on March 1 only through a centralised online platform, ‘buyskodaonline’, for an amount of `1 lakh.

The South Korean car maker on Monday launched the second generation Hyundai Creta in the country at an introductory price tag of `9.99 lakh for the base petrol manual at pan-India showroom.

The top-range diesel automatic costs `17.20 lakh.

The new Creta now competes with the popular Kia

Seltos, MG Hector, Renault Duster and Nissan Kicks.

“With over 14,000 confirmed bookings, it will take about one-and-half month to two months to deliver the cars to customers,” Puneet Anand, senior vice president and group head, marketing at Hyundai Motors India told Financial Chronicle.

He said more than 50 per cent of new Creta customers have opted for the diesel versions.

Hyundai Motors India senior vice-president said there is an overall slowdown in the automobile industry in the country but there is demand for new, attractive models and customers are willing to open their purse.

Creta comes with three engine options such as the

1.5-litre petrol, 1.5-litre VGT diesel and the 1.4-litre Turbo GDI petrol.

Transmission options will include a 6-speed manual that will be standard across the range, along with an optional torque convertor for the 1.5 diesel engine, 7-speed DCT for the

1.4 Turbo petrol, and the iVT automatic for the 1.5 petrol motor.

The new generation Creta will be offered in a total of

14 variants.