NEW DELHI: The battle for leadership of the midsize sedan segment is well underway, with Hyundai’s Verna being pushed to third place behind Honda City and Maruti Suzuki’s newest offering, Ciaz.
For the Verna, a segment leader between 2011 and 2013, the first blow came in the form of the new Honda City, which was launched in January 2014. But it was the launch of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz – which replaced its earlier, rather unsuccessful SX4 – in October last year that pushed the South Korean car further down the pecking order. Verna’s sales, which after the City’s launch had fallen only by about 1,000 units a month, halved after the Ciaz hit the market.
Industry experts say that while Maruti’s extensive sales network and brand goodwill played a role, a big reason for the success of the Ciaz was the aggressive pricing. “The Ciaz is cheaper than both the City and Verna by about Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh across variants. Maruti clearly managed a sweet spot with the pricing,” an industry executive said, on condition of anonymity.
In January 2015 (see table), volumes for the Verna dropped 57% on annual basis to 1,620 units, coming closer to segment laggards Volkswagen Vento and the Skoda Rapid, both of which have maintained monthly volumes of around 1,000 units for over a year. For the same period, the City and Ciaz both set individual records with 7,671 units and 6,005 unit, respecitively.
In fact, the Ciaz is giving even the City a run for its money in New Delhi and Mumbai where both cars have been clocking almost equal monthly sales of about 500 units over the past few months, according to a Maruti Suzuki executive.
“Ciaz is receiving very good response in top cities like Delhi NCR, Mumbai & Ahmedabad. Customers are appreciating its looks, styling and superb fuel efficiency,” a statement from the company said.
Hyundai, meanwhile, is buckling up for the ride ahead. A major facelift of the Verna is scheduled to hit the roads on February 17, bookings for which are already open. The new model, apart from a new design, promises better driving dynamics and comes loaded with features like projector lamps, LED tail lamps, a touchscreen system with navigation and 6-speed automatic transmission.
Gaurav Vangaal, senior analyst for light vehicle forecasting at IHS Automotive, said that the new Verna is expected to add incremental numbers for Hyundai, but regaining the past ground in current scenario will remain a challenge.
“Together, both the City and Ciaz are giving tough competition to each other and pushing others towards the corner of the segment. Honda City with diesel offering since last year has proven its worth for Indian consumer while Ciaz numbers are exciting and if they are able to sustain in the long run, it will change the dynamics of the segment,”Vangaal said. “As far as Hyundai is concerned they are always good in surprising the market with futuristic design and high-end features.”
But whether that will enough to push the Verna back into pole position in its segment remains to be seen.
