Hyundai Exter drives past 50,000 bookings, 40,000 bookings added in last 30 days

Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), country's second-largest carmaker, on Wednesday announced that its latest mini-SUV product - the Exter - has received over 50,000 bookings so far. While the company had claimed 11,000 bookings at the day of the Exter's launch, which was held on July 10, according to HMIL, more than 40,000 new orders have been added in the last 30 days. 

The key reason to the Exter's flying start could be attributed to its aggressive pricing, which falls in the range of Rs 5.99 lakh and Rs 9.99 lakh, ex-showroom, and positions Hyundai's latest market entrant to give competition to a whole host of hatchbacks ranging from the Maruti Suzuki Wagon R and Swift, to compact sedans, as well as entry-SUVs in the market. 

"The response to the Exter is euphoric, so much so that the bookings have zoomed from 10,000 pre-orders before the launch, to over 50,000 in less than 30 days of the Exter going on sale," said, Tarun Garg, Chief Operating Officer, HMIL.

"The Exter has redefined benchmarks in this segment by offering customers superior safety with six airbgas as standard, while offering active safety systems like ESC, and hill-assist control across all trims as options," he added. The Exter comes with a 1.2-litre petrol- and petrol-CNG bi-fuel options, along with both manual and AMT drivetrain choices.

The company states that more than 75%of these 50,000 bookings are for the sunroof-equipped trims of the Exter, which comes with an SUV attributes such as 180mm ground clearance, roof rails, and a tall stance. Hyundai Motor India, which has positioned the Exter to squarely target the Tata Punch, aims to grow the entry-level SUV segment, which clocks approximately 20,000 to 22,000 units every month. While the Tata Punch enjoys a handsome 50 percent share of this category, which also includes the likes of the Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger, Maruti Suzuki Ignis, and Citroen C3 from the perspective of being similarly priced as the Exter. 

"With the foray of the Exter, we believe that the entry-SUV segment volumes can significantly grow within the next 18 months, as it is a high-potential segment and cuts across various vehicle categories, including compact sedans, as well as hatchbacks. There is a high likelihood of the Exter appealing to not only SUV, but also hatchback buyers in the market," Garg told Autocar Professional in a recent interview. 

With the Exter, 60 percent of Hyundai Motor India's 10-model portfolio in India is now SUVs, with the Korean carmaker being optimistic about its ability to cater to the burgeoning demand for the said body type. "This puts us in an extremely strong position to cater to the addressable market, which is tilted towards SUVs that comprised 46 percent of total passenger vehicle sales in India in FY2023," Garg had said. 

In anticipation of the strong demand for the Exter, HMIL had augmented its manufacturing capacity at its maiden plant in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai by 50,000 units to 825,000 units annually, starting July 2023. While the plant will reach its maximum capacity expansion possibility by touching 850,000 units, Hyundai Motor India is in the process of taking over General Motors India's vacant plant in Talegaon, near Pune, and is likely to sign a commercial agreement within a few weeks.