Hyundai Venue races past 50,000 sales in 6 months

The Hyundai Venue is in the news again. Part of a gaggle of new models in the past 6-8 months which have given a new charge to the utility vehicle (UV) and MPV segment in India, the Venue is giving the Korean carmaker a new charge in India.

While UVs are the sole segment to be in the black in April-October 2019 period (0.14%), a smart uptick in October 2019 (22%) with overall sales of 100,725 units promises to be the harbinger of good times for SUV manufacturers.

The UV sales trend in India is mirroring that of Europe – which has recorded its best October sales since 2009. 84,400 SUVs were registered in Europe in October 2019, as demand increased by 22% YoY and the segment posted a record market share of 40%. 

A key contributor to the UV segment's growth in India is the new Venue, Hyundai Motor India’s first compact SUV, launched in May 2019. The Venue comes with three engine options – a 90hp, 1.4-litre diesel, an 83hp, 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol unit, and a 120hp, 1.0-litre turbocharged unit.

Since launch till end-October 2019, the Venue has sold a total of 51,257 units – 29,726 petrol and 21,531 diesel (58:42 petrol:diesel) and contributed 9.36% to total India UV sales (547,572) in the first seven months of FY2020.   

Venue Sales
May: 7,049
June: 8,763
July: 9,585
Aug: 9,342
Sep: 7,942
Oct: 8,576
Total: 51,257 

In the six months since its launch, the Venue has averaged sales 8,542 units a month, very good going for a new vehicle and enough to ensure that the Venue is a regular in the monthly Top 5 UV chart. The Venue drove into the Top 5 best-selling UVs chart in the very month of launch, in May (in fourth place with 7,049 units) and June (8,763), when it came tantalisingly close to going past the No. 1 UV, the Maruti Vitara Brezza. And in July 2019, with 9,585 units, it took the UV crown, unseating the longstanding UV champion, the Maruti Vitara Brezza. In August, with 9,342 units, it continued to be the No. 1, losing its numero uno position to the Vitara Brezza in September, when it sold 7,942 units. In October, it dropped one more rank to third place (8,576 units), as a result of the hard-charging Kia Seltos becoming India’s No. 1 UV within three months of launch and an improved performance from the Vitara Brezza.

Helps increase Hyundai's UV market share to 19%
This smart market performance, not surprisingly, has given Hyundai Motor India new heft in the UV market. Of Hyundai's total 106,366 UVs sold between April-October 2019, the Venue accounts for 48%. In terms of UV market share, the Venue has given the Korean carmaker a new charge. In October, the Venue-Creta combine sold 15,845 units, up 35% year on year (October 2018: 11,702; only Creta sales). 

The strong performance of Hyundai's SUVs, which account for 36 percent of the Korean carmaker's total PV sales of 294,444 units in April-October 2019, have helped the company expand its UV market share by over 5 percentage points, to 19.43% from 13.91% a year ago – which makes it the biggest share gainer of all UV makers in this period.

The company says it has around 80,000 bookings for the Venue, which means this is one model that will continue to be in the news.

Also read: New models power UV market share growth for Hyundai, Kia, MG and Renault 

Top 5 UVs – October 2019 | Kia Seltos becomes India's No. 1 UV within 3 months of launch