Hyundai claims 17,000 bookings for aggressively priced Venue SUV

Hyundai Motor India today announced that it has received over 17,000 bookings for the recently launched Venue compact SUV since bookings opened on May. The carmaker also claims the Venue has evinced keen interest and enquiries from over 80,000 interested potential buyers On May 21, Autocar Professional had reported that the company had 15,000 bookings in hand, 35 percent of them for the 1.4-litre diesel variant.

With an absolutely aggressive pricing strategy for its first-ever compact SUV, the Venue, Hyundai has surprised the Indian market by positioning the global model squarely with Tata Motors' Nexon, which retails at Rs 649,000 ex-showroom, for its base petrol variant. The Venue E-MT 1.2 petrol is priced at Rs 650,000.

While the diesel 1.4-litre Venue at Rs 775,000 is Rs 7,000 dearer than the segment leader Maruti Vitara Brezza, the catch is that the  popular Maruti and the UV market leader only has a limited run with the Fiat-sourced 1.3-litre diesel engine, which will be discontinued come April 2020.

As is known, the Hyundai Venue is available with a 90hp, 1.4-litre diesel, an 83hp, 1.2-litre petrol and a 120hp, 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine options, the last of which is also available with a 7-speed dual-clutch auto gearbox. Hyundai has revealed that the petrol-diesel bookings split so far stands at 64-36. The carmakers has also disclosed that a majority of the Venue petrol bookings are for the 1.0-litre turbo petrol variant mated to the DCT gearbox. 

The Hyundai Venue takes on the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Tata Nexon and Mahindra XUV300.

Dealerships seeing robust footfalls
At present, Hyundai Motor says its dealerships across the country are seeing robust footfalls. According to Vikas Jain, National Sales Head, Hyundai Motor India, “Our dealerships are witnessing highest-ever traction and footfalls. We are overwhelmed with the response as customers are spending maximum time inside the cabin experiencing the new technology and connectivity features."

Given that Hyundai has committed to clear the initial 15,000 orders by July 2019, expect the company to have despatched plenty of Venues to its dealerships this month. This also means that the Venue could debut in the Top 5 Utility Vehicles chart for May 2019.

Also read: 2019 Hyundai Venue review, test drive

Hyundai Venue vs rivals: Price, specification comparison

Hyundai Venue image gallery