Creta hits the sweet spot with women buyers

When Hyundai launched its Creta SUV precisely a year ago, it knew only too well that it was entering an intensely competitive arena. The company was taking on established players like Mahindra & Mahindra with its vast range of products as well as successful models like the Renault Duster and Ford Ecosport.

Today, Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice-President (Sales & Marketing), will have reasons to feel pleased with Creta’s showing. With domestic monthly sales averaging 7,500 units, it has zoomed ahead of the rest. Plans are now on to increase output to 10,000 units even while exports will continue at 2,500 units each month.

Formula for success

It is also thanks to Creta that Hyundai is now confident of surpassing the half million sales mark which pretty much means that the India script is working like a charm.

“The ride and handling in both the petrol and diesel versions of Creta is tops in terms of customer feedback,” says Srivastava. Generally, the share of petrol in SUVs is barely 10 per cent but in the case of Creta it is 25 per cent and growing.

According to him, market research suggests that most of the petrol buyers are coming in from the sedan segments where the ratio of petrol to diesel is 60:40. These typically comprise models like the Vento, Honda City, Dzire and so on.

“We have found that a good percentage of buyers prefer the petrol version of Creta to the (petrol) sedan. We are known for compact cars and sedans but the successful SUV association has now bolstered our standing even further,” says Srivastava.

Creta is now the largest selling ₹10-lakh plus model both in SUVs and sedans. Hyundai is now aiming at consolidation of its monthly numbers which have now been enhanced by 33 per cent. Interestingly, the automatic (diesel) takes up 20 per cent of sales and it is here that the company is particularly pleased with the response from women.

Nearly 75 per cent of them have opted for the automatic option and fuelled its demand in the process.

Feminine appeal

“Among all SUVs, Creta has the largest percentage of women who like it for its body styling, riding and features. They seek trust, confidence and competence in a product and this is where it has hit the bull’s-eye,” says Srivastava.

Hyundai has now launched the petrol automatic which could now result in the (petrol) component of Creta increasing even further in the coming months. Eventually, it could even touch 40 per cent though these are early days yet.

“From our point of view, Creta’s good showing only shows that Hyundai image of being youthful, modern and premium is firmly in place,” says Srivastava. It also plans to make the most of the SUV momentum that is in place now by launching its Tucson brand in the last quarter of this year.

There was, of course, a lot of sweat and toil involved while making Creta a reality. It was an exhaustive exercise which involved Hyundai’s R&D teams from South Korea and India working together to understand what the SUV customer really wanted. Market research seemed to suggest that the existing lineup in the country was essentially what one would term “rough with bare necessities”.

As Srivastava had indicated in an earlier interview, understanding the aspirations and needs of buyers had worked for Creta. “In particular, we were aware of the growing evolution of the customer and his priorities,” he had said.

What people were looking for was a product with a taller stance and dominating presence that could handle rough terrain. They also wanted a luxury feel as well as premium technology. In a nutshell, Creta needed to make driving modern and the market response clearly shows that Hyundai has delivered the right mix of ingredients.

Yet, the challenge is to sustain the momentum especially in a fiercely competitive market like India.

Maruti Suzuki, for instance, has hit the sweet spot with its Vitara Brezza that is clocking impressive numbers. Mahindra & Mahindra, likewise, is an established player in the SUV space with robust brands like Scorpio while new launches like the KUV100 and TUV300 are doing well. The Duster seems to have slowed down even while its recently launched sibling from the Renault stable, Kwid, is on a roll in the compact segment.

From Hyundai’s point of view, though, Creta is the best piece of news considering that it was a newcomer in the SUV segment but has still climbed quickly to the top spot. This by itself means that the corporate brand has grown over the years and is now being accepted across product categories.

The Korean carmaker now hopes to cross the half million mark in domestic sales this year. According to Srivastava, what is especially encouraging is that its other products have also made a strong connect in the market. The Grand i10 is now doing 12,000 units each month while the i20 is averaging 10,000 units.

While these are the performance products, the growth driver is the Xcent which has the potential to be tomorrow’s blockbuster. The vehicles with a “segment presence” are the i10, Verna and Eon while the image brands are Elantra and Santa Fe. “Every brand has a role to play and we are continuously evolving our portfolio,” says Srivastava.

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