India market sales of Hyundai’s first-ever compact SUV have passed the half-million mark, with 500,476 units sold by the end of November 2023. The Venue is the second highest-selling model for Hyundai Motor India after the Creta.
07 Jan 2024 | 10911 Views | By Ajit Dalvi
Hyundai Motor India’s all-time high calendar year sales of 602,111 units in CY2023 has been thanks to the sustained and surging demand for two of its key models, the Creta midsize SUV and the Venue compact SUV. While the Creta drove past the 900,000 unit milestone in June, the ...
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Hyundai Motor India’s all-time high calendar year sales of 602,111 units in CY2023 has been thanks to the sustained and surging demand for two of its key models, the Creta midsize SUV and the Venue compact SUV. While the Creta drove past the 900,000 unit milestone in June, the Hyundai Venue has logged a milestone of its own – half-a-million sales.
Between April and November 2023, the Venue has sold 88,136 units, up 8% YoY (April-November 2022: 81,609 units), which takes its cumulative sales since launch on May 21, 2019 to 550,476 units.
Hyundai Motor India’s first-ever compact SUV, which has received a new sibling in the recently launched Exter and is part of this ultra-competitive segment, has notched its latest sales milestone 55 months after launch.
The Hyundai Venue’s cumulative domestic market sales numbers (see data table below) reveals that the best 12-month performance was in FY2023 with 120,653 units, growing 15% on FY2022’s 105,091 units.
The Venue, currently sold in 19 variants (16 petrol and three diesel), is available with three engine options. There's a 1.2-litre petrol, a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel. Gearbox options include a five-speed manual, six-speed iMT and seven-speed DCT for the petrol variants and a six-speed manual for the diesel Venue. Pricing for the compact SUV starts at Rs 918,000 for the base 1.2 petrol E MT variant and goes upwards to Rs 16.10 lakh for the top-end diesel 1.5 CRDi SX (O) MT variant (all prices, on-road Delhi).
The Venue N is the more driver-focussed alternative of the standard Venue.
In early September 2024, Hyundai heavily updated the Venue and Venue N Line with a new gearbox for the 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine as well as ADAS. This makes the Venue the first compact SUV in India to feature driver assistance systems. The Venue N is billed as the more driver-focussed alternative of the standard Venue.
The Venue is part of the most hotly contested sub-segment of the UV market: compact SUVs. This segment, which is populated by some high-selling models like the Tata Nexon, Tata Punch, Maruti Brezza, Mahindra XUV300, Bolero Neo and the Kia Sonet, along with the Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger, has seen a flurry of new entrants in the Maruti Fronx and Jimny, Citroen C3 and the Venue’s own sibling, the Exter.
Halfway into the Venue’s product lifecycle, Hyundai adroitly maintained the freshness quotient with the rollout of the facelifted model in June 2022. The Venue's look is now in line with newer global Hyundai SUVs such as the Tucson and Palisade.
High on fuel efficiency
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 an effort to rev up sales of its first-ever compact SUV, Hyundai Motor India launched the Venue N Line in September 2022. 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.
In April 2023, in its safety update for the Venue, Creta and i20 hatchback, Hyundai Motor India fitted three-point seatbelts on all seats, along with adjustable headrests at the rear for all variants of the Venue.
Small can also be big
When it comes to SUV sales in the Indian market, small is big. The compact SUV (models below 4,000mm length) market proves just that – in FY2023, 888,997 units representing 11 models were sold, accounting for 44% of total UV sales and 46% of the Top 30. Four models – Tata Nexon, Maruti Brezza, Tata Punch and Hyundai Venue – sold over 100,000 units each, which clearly establishes the Venue’s heft in the SUV scheme of things.
It's the same in the ongoing fiscal year – between April-November 2023, the Venue maintains its fourth rank in this segment with 88,136 units, behind the Maruti Brezza (111,371), Tata Nexon (110,778) and Tata Punch (102,326). It is ahead of the Maruti Fronx (84,701) and the Kia Sonet (51,992), Hyundai Exter (39,499) and the Mahindra XUV300 (39,305).
In its quick commentary on the Venue, Autocar India states: “The compact SUV is more than a scaled-down Creta. It may lack a bit of presence but it’s a fine choice for urban buyers. A very likeable, user-friendly compact SUV.”
Hyundai Motor India remains the firm No. 2 passenger vehicle OEM in India after Maruti Suzuki. Much of that credit goes to the Creta, Hyundai’s best-selling product and India's best-selling midsize SUV, as well as the Venue.
Now, with new ammo in the form of the Exter, will the Hyundai Venue-Exter combination accelerate the company's growth in the compact SUV market in 2024? Watch this space.
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