Hyundai launched the Exter subcompact SUV in India on July 10. With an introductory price of INR 6 lakh (ex-showroom, India). Since bookings opened in May, the Exter has garnered over 16,000 bookings. Hyundai mentioned bookings are coming in at a rate of 1,800 per day. The breakdown of bookings shows that 38 per cent are for the AMT version. Then we have 22 per cent for the CNG version, and 40 per cent for the petrol manual version.
The waiting period for the Exter varies depending on the variant. The Exter manual and CNG variants have a waiting period of approximately six to eight weeks. Meanwhile, the automatic versions have a waiting period of 10 to 12 weeks. Interestingly, despite the higher number of bookings for the Exter manual, the AMT-equipped versions have the highest waiting period.
In terms of competition, the Exter competes with the Tata Punch, Citroen C3, and Maruti Suzuki Ignis. Since May, the Tata Punch has sold more than 22,000 units. As compared to the Citroen C3 and Maruti Suzuki Ignis, which have sold fewer units, with nearly 1,500 and 8,900 units sold, respectively. With the Exter in the segment, the competition has improved significantly.
The Hyundai Exter offers several segment-first features. This includes a voice-enabled sunroof, dash cam, six airbags, and ESC as standard across the range. Hyundai expects the subcompact SUV segment’s monthly sales to double from the current 10,000-11,000 units range. While they cannot provide a specific sales figure for the Exter. But the South Korean carmaker believes Exter will act as a volume churner for Hyundai due to the shift in consumer demand from hatchbacks to SUVs over the past few years.
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