Hyundai Motor India’s first-ever compact SUV holds its own amidst growing competition in the most hotly contested sub-segment in India’s booming Indian utility vehicle.
03 May 2023 | 20568 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Hyundai Motor India’s first-ever compact SUV – the Venue – has driven past 400,000-unit sales in the Indian market. The milestone comes 47 months after the Venue was launched on May 21, 2019. As of end-March 2023, the Venue has clocked cumulative sales of 412,340 units.
Priced from Rs ...
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Hyundai Motor India’s first-ever compact SUV – the Venue – has driven past 400,000-unit sales in the Indian market. The milestone comes 47 months after the Venue was launched on May 21, 2019. As of end-March 2023, the Venue has clocked cumulative sales of 412,340 units.
Priced from Rs 871,000 for the base model through to Rs 15.40 lakh (on-road Delhi), the Venue is available in 13 variants across three engine options. These comprise an 83hp 1.2-litre petrol, a 115hp 1.5-litre diesel and a 1210hp 1.0-litre turbo-petrol. Gearbox options include a 5-speed manual, 6-speed iMT and 7-speed DCT for the petrols and a 6-speed manual for the diesel.
The promise of the Venue was revealed in the first six months after launch when it clocked 50,000 sales. The 100,000 sales mark came up in 15 months, 200,000 in 25 months and 250,000 was crossed in 30 months. The Venue drove past the 300,000 milestone in April 2023, 36 months after launch. The sales run from 200,000 to 300,000 units and thereon to 400,000 units took an identical 11 months.
The compact SUV saw flat sales in the second year of launch – 92,972 units in the Covid-impacted FY2021 but has seen growth rise 13% YoY to 105,091 units in FY2022 and by 15% in FY2023 to 120,653 units. This performance enabled it to become the sixth-best-selling utility vehicle in India in FY2023, a creditable performance given the hugely increased competition in the booming Indian UV marketplace.
The compact SUV segment is the most hotly contested sub-segment in the UV market. The Venue at present rivals the UV market leader Tata Nexon, Maruti Vitara Brezza, Kia Sonet, Mahindra XUV300, and more recent entrants like the Tata Punch, Mahindra Thar, Bolero Neo, Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger and Triber, Toyota Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Citroen C3.
As Autocar India says, “The Hyundai Venue is a jack of all trades. Spread across a wide price band and offered with multiple engine and transmission options, the Venue caters to a broad set of buyers. It is very user-friendly, the engines are smooth and refined, controls are light and ergonomics are spot-on. The interior is feature-packed and rear seat space has also improved over the pre-facelift version. The Venue might not be the toughest, the most spacious or the comfiest compact SUV, but it does reasonably well in most areas, and that makes it a formidable contender in its space.”
High on fuel economy
A fair portion of the Venue’s appeal goes to its fuel efficiency. Topping the list is the Venue 1.0 GDI with the 6-speed manual transmission that delivers 18.27 kilometres per litre. A close second is the 1.0 GDI with the 7-speed dual-clutch auto that has an ARAI-tested fuel economy figure of 18.15kpl. The Venue 1.2 petrol, available solely with a 5-speed manual gearbox, delivers a lower 17.52kpl. The Venue 1.4 diesel is rated for 23.7kpl.
In September 2022, in an effort to rev up sales of the Venue, Hyundai launched the Venue N Line. The Venue N Line comes with a single powertrain – a 120hp, 172Nm, 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine paired to the 7-speed DCT with paddle shifters.
The cosmetic changes are really the talking point – N Line badging on the front bumper, revised front and rear bumpers with red accents on the lower section, red inserts on the roof rails and new 16-inch alloy wheel design with red front callipers. The Venue N Line is available in a total of five colour options – three dual-tones and two monotones.
Last month, in its safety update for the Venue, Creta and i20 hatchback, Hyundai Motor India has fitted three-point seatbelts on all seats, along with adjustable headrests at the rear for all variants of the Venue.
Over the past four fiscals and 47 months, the Venue with total sales of 412,340 units accounts for 20.55% of Hyundai Motor India’s cumulative sales of 20,05,890 units between FY2020 and FY2023. Its share of Hyundai sales was 19% in both FY2020 and FY2021, growing to 22% in FY2022 21% in FY2023.
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