Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), which launched the luxury mid-size Fluidic Verna sedan, on Monday said the company had received 5,000 bookings for the car within five days of launch.
H W Park, managing director and chief executive officer, said, “The Verna has many first-in-segment features and our customers have received the new version with unparalleled enthusiasm.” HMIL is looking at selling 45,000 units of the car within a year.
The new Verna, available in petrol and diesel variants, is tagged between Rs 6.99 lakh and Rs 10.75 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The base line petrol version is considerably cheaper than the Honda City, which is priced upwards of Rs 8.15 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The Volkswagen Vento, in the meantime, is tagged between Rs 6.99 lakh and Rs 9.23 lakh.
HMIL has introduced six diesel variants of the Verna, priced between Rs 8.09 lakh and Rs 10.75 lakh. The pricing points are slightly higher than those for the Volkswagen Vento (diesel), tagged at Rs 7.99 lakh and Rs 9.23 lakh. The company expects 65-70 per cent of the sales to filter in from the diesel variant. Honda City has only a petrol version.
“The upper end of the mid-size sedan segment accounts for over a third of overall sales in the category and has been growing at a faster rate. The new Verna has four engine options, two each in petrol and diesel to cover a wider range of customers,” Arvind Saxena, director (sales & marketing), had said earlier.
The upper end of the mid-size segment has been seeing increased competition in recent months. While Maruti Suzuki introduced a diesel variant of the SX4 in February, US-based car maker Ford is planning to launch the global Fiesta in July.