Hyundai Verna won't cut Accent trip short

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), which launched its latest offering Verna in the domestic market here on Monday, expects both the new brand and the ageing Accent to survive in the mid-segment on the back of differentiated product offerings to the end user. India is the only market, where Hyundai will sell both these brands at the same time.

The South Korean carmaker, which expects to dominate the mid-size car segment on the strength of its twin offerings, is pitching for Verna as a car packed with high technology and cutting-edge performance that would appeal more to the upwardly-mobile consumer.

"In the compact segment, we have two offerings that are not too far apart, while our competitors have three offerings. So, we expect these differently positioned cars to appeal to different sets of buyers, as the segment is wide enough to hold both the Verna and the Accent," said Arvind Saxena, vice- president, marketing and sales, HMIL.

"While the Verna will appeal to the more upwardly-mobile consumer, who is looking for the latest in technology, performance and features, the Accent is positioned as a value-for-money proposition that will lure conservative buyers, who want a tried-and-tested product," Saxena said.

The Verna is basically the sixth-generation, mid-size offering from the Hyundai stable, the previous generation of which is the Accent. Hyundai is phasing out the fifth-generation Accent across the rest of the globe. The Accent was launched in India in 1999.

"When our team of market researchers and planners surveyed the market, they found an undefined, yet clear visible vertical, split in the largest growing segment in the market. The Verna has been launched to address the higher end of this segment," said H S Lheem, managing director, HMIL.

Company officials said currently 54 per cent of the mid-size segment market is serviced by more utilitarian models, like Accent, Ford Ikon, Maruti Esteem and Tata Indigo. The remaining is where models, like Honda City, Chevy Aveo and now, the Hyundai Verna, will fit in.

The Verna has been launched at an inaugural price of Rs 6.21-6.93 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the petrol version and Rs 7.35 lakh for the diesel version. In comparison, the Accent costs Rs 5.31-6.53 lakh for the petrol version and Rs 6.81-7.16 lakh for the diesel version.

Will the entry-level Verna eat into the top-end Accent? Saxena said that this trend was expected in the initial 2 to 3 months, after which sales would stabilise. He added that the company expected to sell 2,500 units of the Verna and about 1,500 units of the Accent every month.