Getz now comes for Rs 4.15 lakh

Priced to match Maruti's Swift VXi.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd on Thursday offered a variant of its premium hatchback Getz at Rs 4.15 lakh - exactly the same price as that of its rival from the Maruti stable, the Swift VXi.

After the Swift was launched in May this year, Hyundai had said its suitable rival was the Santro; the Getz was in a different class.

This Getz variant, named GLE, so far being exported to South Asian countries, will now be available to Indian consumers. This will bring down the price of the entry level Getz by Rs 35,000.

Incidentally, Hyundai had said yesterday that the prices of the Getz and the Accent were likely to go up next month.

BVR Subbu, the company's president, said the new base model of the Getz would be available mostly for the directorate-general of supplies and distribution, though a small quantity will be sold for private use too.

The Getz GLE, which has an AC and power steering as standard features, is understood to be part of Hyundai's efforts to increase its share of the fast-growing premium hatchback segment, where Maruti Udyog retails the three variants of Swift in a price band of Rs 3.95 lakh and Rs 4.95 lakh.

Automobile analysts said the cheaper Getz did not come as a surprise since it had been around for close to a year in India and nearly four years in the international market.

"With the passing of every year, the write-off of development costs has to come down, which is passed on to the end user. Moreover, the price of the Getz had to be matched for getting volumes," said Anang Dev Jena, head of Synovate's Motoresearch.