Two years back Hyundai must not have expected the Hyundai i10 to be so successful, but it turned out to be huge success and has surpassed the benchmark set by Hyundai Santro with sales of 7000 a month, by 12000 a month. And now being a huge success it is being considered as the flagship model for Hyundai.
The Marketing Director Arvind Saxena has said that the Hyundai i10 has performed really well in terms of sales in 2009 and despite its higher price (Rs. 3.5 – 5 lakhs) Hyundai i10 has exceeded Hyundai Santro sales as compared besides lower price of Hyundai Santro (Rs. 3.2 – 3.6lakhs). Analysts have said that in India customers are now not only moving towards bigger cars but are also getting interested in cars with higher budgets. Maruti Suzuki found itself in a similar position a few years ago when Maruti Alto overtook Maruti 800 to become its largest selling car in India.
Another appreciation for the car came in when the I10 was announced as ” The Car Of The Year” by the ICOTY jury in 2008 due to the consumption, operational efficiency and emissions got better with the 1.2 liter kappa engine. For this most of credit is being given to the smart and aggressive advertising of the car.
Further various events were organized in order to prove the reliability and performance of the i10 like the Kappa Challenge based on the concept of touch, feel, drive and experience i10 equipped with the Kappa engine and the other event organized had two cars which were driven by the media members from Delhi to Paris, a journey of 1000 Km in 17 days.
Another contributor to the success of I10 is its brand ambassador Shahrukh Khan and interestingly Shahrukh has stopped using his surname in all the brand’s advertisements.Delighted by its success, Hyundai also showcased an electric version for i10 at the Delhi Auto Expo last month. The i10 Electric offers dual recharging cycles and would take around five hours to be fully charged, which will enable the car to run for 160 km. Saxena says both i10 and Santro could co-exist as the latter is positioned as a value-for-money car that is ideal for a first time buyer, targeted at nuclear families. On the other hand, i10 is positioned as a performance car that is urban, stylish, sporty and targeted at the younger audience.
