Hyundai i30: One Million+, Yet Bad Omen For India

by Dhiyanesh Ravichandran · December 11, 2012

With more than a million already sold globally, the i30 remains to be the Hyundai’s best seller. Developed specifically for the European market, the first gen i30 (2008) heralded a new era for the company with an escalated brand awareness.

The car appeals to young, progressive buyers who wants a car that not only performs well but also looks great and more practical. Not surprisingly, it became an impeccable alternative to some of the class leaders in the segment – VW Golf and Ford Focus, with refined styling, comfort and packaging, more standard features and lower emissions.

In spite of prodigious response globally, the idea of offering the i30 in the Indian market always occupies back seat for the Hyundai Motor India Limited. There were rumors about its launch few months after the launch of i20, but the company is not zealous in bring it. Why not? The company’s flagship model, the next gen Verna, has overtook the class leader Honda City which enjoyed monopoly in the segment for almost a decade. The new Elantra is emerging as one of the top selling premium sedans.The i30 with a more premium appeal would definitely win buyers in the 10 lakh segment.

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But Hyundai may have scores of concerns about its success in the Indian market. Firstly, it exceeds the 4-metre mark in length by 245mm, which means no small car tax exemptions and would eventually escalate cost. Secondly, the i30 is offered around £14,000 in the European markets, which absolutely exceeds the 10 lakhs mark. In a price conscious market like India, such an exorbitant price for a bigger hatch is unacceptable, and an ideal buyer would prefer a premium sedan (or even a Verna from the same stable) with more practicality. Indian love cheap yet practical sedans.

The premium hatches like the Polo and Fabia too lose a great deal of sales to the efficient entry-level sedans. That’s probably the same case why Volkswagen simply evades and fears to launch the Golf, while it tries to bridge the gap by inducting some embellished variants of the existing Polo.

[This article was written for and has also been published in Indianautosblog ]

Photo Credit: Gearpatrol.com