What ails the Elantra?
23 September 2004
The Elantra is a great car at a great price yet its sales have been slipping. Mohini Bhatnagar reports
In
the past year, the upper mid-size or D segment, which
has been growing at 25 per cent annually, has witnessed
increased competition with a number of high profile brands
jostling for space in a limited market. Last year about
14,337 cars were sold in this segment, which includes
the Toyota Corolla, Skoda Octavia, GM Optra and the new
entrant, Hyundai Elantra. One can just about squeeze in
the base version of the Hyundai Sonata as well. All these
cars come priced in the Rs8-lakh to Rs12-lakh range.
The Camry, Opel Vectra, Mercedes Benz C Class, Skoda Superb, Honda Accord and Ford Mondeo priced between Rs15 lakh and Rs20 lakh qualify for the premium segment, also referred to as the upper D class.
Competition in the D segment, which had only the Toyota Corolla and Skoda Octavia till last year, intensified with the launch of the GM Optra last year and the Elantra this year. The entry of Elantra has, in fact, shaken up the segment in the past month and a half, with Hyundai Motor India (HMI) continuously taking potshots at Toyota and GM in the print media, accusing the latter of being lax on safety standards and offering inferior products to those offered in the US and European markets.
In
spite of the consumer educative campaign, as HMI’s
managing director BVR Subbu, calls its August ad campaign,
which compares the Elantra, to the disadvantage of the
Corolla and Optra Incidentally, the Hyundai Elantra has
been losing the race for the top slot in its segment consistently
for the past three months.
The Elantra, launched in April this year, topped this segment in May 2004 with sales of 885 units leaving Corolla behind at 757 units. From January to April the top slot was oscillating between the Corolla and Optra. A total of 2,912 D segment cars were sold in May this year.
