Hyundai: Hyundai Santro is once again saying goodbye to rising prices and falling demand

Due to the continued rise in vehicle prices and falling demand from car buyers, Hyundai Motor India was forced to turn off the modest hatchback.

Some argue that the recent draft notice of mandatory for M1 vehicles – cars with a capacity of up to 8 passengers to have 6 airbags, may have been a critical factor for this decision.

This may be unviable for such OEMs Hyundai to invest in ensuring that low-volume models comply with upcoming safety rules, experienced people have added.

Re-launched in 2018 at a price of 3.9 lakh rupees to 5.5 lakh rupees, Santro’s latest generation BS VI Over the past few years, engine prices have risen by almost 20-30% to 5.7 lakh rupees to 7 lakh rupees in the ex-cabin.

The car for the last six months has averaged about 1500-2000 units per month, making it unprofitable for the South Korean carmaker to maintain the profitability of the model.

According to several celebrities, the latest generation Santro unit was produced last week. The current Santro has failed to recreate the success story of its predecessor. Part of the reason may also be the evolution of the Indian passenger car market with growing demand for premium SUVs and hatchbacks.

The development comes at a time when the share of SUVs has steadily overtaken hatchbacks, making it the largest sales subsegment in the market.

In the first innings the small car Santro founded Hyundai Motor in India and for many years remained one of the best selling models. But the second inning was short and weak due to low demand and the company stopped its production. This move could be part of an OEM strategy to consolidate into sustainable, profitable models.

An email requesting a response from Hyundai Motor India remained unanswered until the publication of this report.

Santro was the Hyundai brand with which Hyundai entered India in 1998. The “tall boy” witnessed some alterations and the introduction of a more powerful 1.1-liter engine during its first generation. Interestingly, the only tall boy in the country Wagon R became the best-selling car in India in fiscal year 2022 with sales of 188,838 units.

Sales of the 2nd generation Santro were the highest in fiscal year 2012 and amounted to 51,514 units in the domestic market. During FY 22 sales of the model totaled about 23,700 units. The current generation has sold 1.46 lakh units over the last 4 years in the domestic market.