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Old 17th January 2012, 00:19   #16
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO View Post
High Points:

Magna + : Rs 3.42 lakh (adds 2-Din audio system with USB, Aux and misc features)

- All three variants will also offer the LPG option at ~27,000 more. The LPG tank has a 34 litre capacity.
Hi GTO, can you please expand on the "misc features" mentioned for Magna+, i assume that when you say magna+ it is Magna(O).
that happens to be my car hence interested.

I was very satisfied with the petrol variant and now that there is an option for LPG its just great. i am sure Hyundai would update my earlier model with the LPG fitting at 27K
Based on your experience please let me know if LPG option on a 800cc car would be a good upgrade in terms of the performance and drivability of the car.
Wondering what mileage it will give?
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Old 17th January 2012, 09:18   #17
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

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Originally Posted by kaks15 View Post
Positioning is not only about engine capacity, its also what target segment you choose what perception people carry of your vehicle and what communication you send out using mass media, pricing, launch etc, apart from other things.

Eon is positioned as an entry level (first buy) car which a santro or an i 10 is not. The very reason they launched eon is that with santro/i10 they were unable to make a dent in alto sales is because alto has established it self as an entry level car whilst santro/i10 were never positioned there.

The entry level segment has a huge potential in our country but to replace a king is no kids play. Besides why would they need a 1.1 eon there are 2 products already in that segment doing insane numbers.
Positioning of Eon is debatable, but IMHO, Eon is not targeted at cost concious first time buyers. Maruti Alto caters to this target segment, and quite frankly, it is next to impossible to dethrone the Alto.

Hyundai has always believed in creating new sub-segments and hence not compete directly with an established Maruti product.

Hyundai has never marketed Eon as a first car the way they did for Santro before Eon launch (The tagline being - First car waale ho to Santro waale ho).

I feel that Eon is targeted at buyers who prefer quality over cost. These may be first time buyers or people who want to buy this as their 2nd or 3rd car for running errands.

Regarding more engine options - I feel that there is no harm in providing additional options to the customers. For example, many people love Hyundai's 1.1L engine but may not like the tall boy design of the cars in which this engine is fitted. Providing this proven engine in a brand new car may appeal to a wider segment of customers who are not satisfied with 800cc engine.

Maruti is also known for sharing engines - the same K10 engine does duty in WagonR, Estilo, A-Star and Alto K10. Don't even get me started on the DDiS engine.

I don't feel that providing more engine options in one car will cannibalise the sales of the other cars. Even if it happens, it doesn't matter as long as the customer sticks to the same brand.

Rohan
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Old 17th January 2012, 14:18   #18
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

Quote:
Originally Posted by rohan_iitr View Post
Positioning of Eon is debatable, but IMHO, Eon is not targeted at cost concious first time buyers. Maruti Alto caters to this target segment, and quite frankly, it is next to impossible to dethrone the Alto.

Hyundai has always believed in creating new sub-segments and hence not compete directly with an established Maruti product.

Hyundai has never marketed Eon as a first car the way they did for Santro before Eon launch (The tagline being - First car waale ho to Santro waale ho).
totally their positioning is debatable, and they do try to saddle between existing segments. they were not explicit about eon as in case of Santro that you mentioned. ( Although Santro never turned out to be a first car for many years)

Quote:
I feel that Eon is targeted at buyers who prefer quality over cost. These may be first time buyers or people who want to buy this as their 2nd or 3rd car for running errands.
This is the part on which I have my doubts.
1st time buyers people who prefer quality over costs : People seem to be moving away from eon so I guess there are not a lot many people who want to give a premium for quality in this segment. Eon sales till date are a testimony to that. (I personally would buy an eon anyday over an alto )

2nd or 3rd time buyers: (An answer from a senior person in automobile industry on a slightly different topic we were discussing sometime back) - No car maker would intentionally keep 2nd or 3rd car market segment as primary target (it might be secondary) while marketing a car, reason being a highly competitive and unorganized market of pre-used vehicles active in this segment making it tough to be a profitable segment to be a primary target. The product might end up being a victim and sell only in this segment like Nano or Eon but a company would want the more share of sales coming from the other segments that they target (nano - tata wants sales from first time buyers, upgrading from 2 wheeler buyers , although till recently major sales were coming from "running errand" usage buyers as you said)

Quote:
Regarding more engine options - I feel that there is no harm in providing additional options to the customers. For example, many people love Hyundai's 1.1L engine but may not like the tall boy design of the cars in which this engine is fitted. Providing this proven engine in a brand new car may appeal to a wider segment of customers who are not satisfied with 800cc engine.

Maruti is also known for sharing engines - the same K10 engine does duty in WagonR, Estilo, A-Star and Alto K10. Don't even get me started on the DDiS engine.

I don't feel that providing more engine options in one car will cannibalise the sales of the other cars. Even if it happens, it doesn't matter as long as the customer sticks to the same brand.
Again a similar logic as I wrote above I would not mind cannibalization as long as major share of sales and profitability for my product is coming from beating the competition and minor percent is that of cannibalization. I would not mind XUV eating away my own Scorpiro VLX customers when I know that the ratio of customers of aria, endeavor, captiva, safari, crv etc is much more.

Last edited by kaks15 : 17th January 2012 at 14:19.
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Old 17th January 2012, 14:45   #19
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

Quote:
Originally Posted by rohan_iitr View Post
Just wondering - why doesn't Hyundai launch a 1.1L variant of the Eon to compete with the Alto K10 ?
Who will buy the Santro then? Remember, the Santro being an old platform being manufactured on fully depreciated machinery is an extremely profitable car for Hyundai.

Quote:
Originally Posted by invidious View Post
any chances of them launching an automatic option?
Nope. You want Automatic? Spend more & buy the i10.

Quote:
Originally Posted by manishkapadia View Post
Many including GTO have said that this car could do with a smaller boot and more rear leg room.

Could the reason for a bigger Boot be that space was actually required to put the LPG Tank ?
Considering that LPG variants account for ~1% of sales, I have to say no.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bluevolt View Post
Prices are fine but why only LPG?
I believe the supply of LPG is more widespread.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mahen_narang View Post
Hi GTO, can you please expand on the "misc features" mentioned for Magna+,
Bits & pieces that are too insignificant to list (features like some chrome here & there).
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Old 17th January 2012, 14:55   #20
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

Its indeed creditable that Hyundai reacted quickly and done the course correction. This is what differetiates the duds (Fiat, Ford, Mitsubushi et al) with the leaders.

Though Hyundai might not able to reach Alto level due to its engine specs and better pricing and branding, will surly decrease the gap with the cost/variants proposition. A good step forward
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Old 17th January 2012, 20:09   #21
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

Kudos to Hyundai for indirectly accepting the fact that the Eon has not hit the level of sales that they had expected. As a result, they acted on it so quickly and the new variants and their positioning are bang on to increase the sales of the Eon. The Alto will not be dethroned anytime soon; let's forget about it. But Hyundai has given a credible alternative to the Alto and those who sit inside the Eon will not buy an Alto after that.

I do not know whether its my imagination or the reality. The gearshift vibrations that irritated me to no end during the initial test drive that I did was just not there in the recent test drive that I undertook. The vibrations were so much reduced and it felt a lot more comfortable. Did someone else here in Team BHP experienced this? If at all Hyundai has did something on the gearshift, then the company has acted really quick on the car's major flaw.

As sanstorm stated above, this is what differentiates companies like Hyundai, Maruti-Suzuki and the rest. Ford, for example, is still keeping mum on the new Fiesta even though the model has met with a lukewarm response. Though the product is brilliant in many ways, Ford is not realizing that it is losing out big time in the fast-expanding premium midsize segment.
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Old 17th January 2012, 20:20   #22
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

The original lot of Eon owners must be crying foul at the recent launch of the + version ;that too within a few months of launch of an "All New Car".

IMHO Hyundai must ,as a goodwill gesture,provide the upgrades to all exisitng Eon owners lest they be made to look like fools.

This just reinforces one belief - watch how a new car behaves in the market for at least 6 months before moving in for it.
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Old 17th January 2012, 23:20   #23
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

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Originally Posted by rohan_iitr View Post
Just wondering - why doesn't Hyundai launch a 1.1L variant of the Eon to compete with the Alto K10 ?
I would, instead, offer a radical alternative. Introduce a 2-3 cylinder 600cc engine on the same Eon body with decent (35-40 BHP) power and price 2-3 variants within the Rs 2.5-Rs 3 lakh band. I'm sure it would pull the Nano customers and those looking for a small city car or a second car, given that the Eon would have better interiors, a larger booth, a full-fledged car image and reliable sales and service. Besides, this "mini" Eon would be placed perfectly between the Nano and the Alto.

Quote:
Originally Posted by rohan_iitr View Post
Positioning of Eon is debatable, but IMHO, Eon is not targeted at cost concious first time buyers. Maruti Alto caters to this target segment, and quite frankly, it is next to impossible to dethrone the Alto.

Hyundai has always believed in creating new sub-segments and hence not compete directly with an established Maruti product.
True. I too have felt that Hyundai has positioned its hatches "half-a-segment" above the Maruti cars.

For example,
Alto -> Eon,
WagonR/Estilo/A-Star -> i10,
Swift -> i20.

Quote:
Originally Posted by vigsom View Post
The original lot of Eon owners must be crying foul at the recent launch of the + version ;that too within a few months of launch of an "All New Car".

IMHO Hyundai must ,as a goodwill gesture,provide the upgrades to all exisitng Eon owners lest they be made to look like fools.

This just reinforces one belief - watch how a new car behaves in the market for at least 6 months before moving in for it.
Fully agree. My neighbour still grumbles at the thought of his old i10 (now sold). He bought the i10 with the IRDE engine and two weeks later, the Kappa1 was introduced. He never forgave Hyundai and is yet to buy another Hyundai car.

Having said that, this is a common situation being faced by car owners across manufacturers, given the thick competition to win customers and revise their products/prices. For example, those who bought the Jazz could still be cursing Honda for reducing later Jazz cars by almost Rs 1 lakh.
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Old 17th January 2012, 23:34   #24
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

i am seeing many new just delivered Eons on the road these days. And fewer Altos for that matter. It would be interesting to know the January 2012 sales figures.
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Old 18th January 2012, 12:23   #25
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

Dont know why but i dont think Eon is very attractive on road. i10 looks much better on road. Eon somehow looks little like fat boy. Also it is difficult to identify it in the crowd as it looks similar to i10 & i20 from the front. The discounts are clear indications that it is not selling well as Hyundai would have thought of. Alto will still remain as India's most selling car in the market. In next 2-3 months we will know real numbers for Eon. I guess it will settle to 6-7 K mark.
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Old 18th January 2012, 17:39   #26
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

There are a few minor but irritating issues like non self centering steering wheel which can scare new drivers, vibrating gear lever, poor NVH , poor low end torque etc which Hyundai should correct than just resorting to revision of prices. If Hyundai are thinking long term future of Eon , they must plonk the 4 pot mill from Santro in to Eon and they will see how sales will skyrocket. This obsession with milking more life out of Santro , which is already on its last legs is going to be counter-productive in my humble opinion.
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Old 18th January 2012, 20:00   #27
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Quote:
Originally Posted by needforspeed88 View Post
There are a few minor but irritating issues like non self centering steering wheel which can scare new drivers, vibrating gear lever, poor NVH , poor low end torque etc which Hyundai should correct than just resorting to revision of prices. If Hyundai are thinking long term future of Eon , they must plonk the 4 pot mill from Santro in to Eon and they will see how sales will skyrocket. This obsession with milking more life out of Santro , which is already on its last legs is going to be counter-productive in my humble opinion.
Compare this with Alto 800 and Eon is actually as good or even better when it comes to lower end torque,NVH level or even the vibrating gearbox.
For 3 lakhs you can't expect such luxury.

The main problem with Eon is its pricing.
It is priced closer to B segment cars than A segment ones. The fully loaded version crosses 4 lakhs and people will automatically think of WagonR or i10 !
Alto 800 is still significantly cheaper than a WagonR or i10. So it continues to do great business. Cut the price of Eon by 15-20K and see how Eon will be at Alto 800's throat.
K10 can be competed if Hyundai refreshes Santro and makes it more upto date in terms of styling and interiors.

Last edited by Turbokick : 18th January 2012 at 20:02.
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Old 19th January 2012, 10:33   #28
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

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Originally Posted by misquitas View Post
I would, instead, offer a radical alternative. Introduce a 2-3 cylinder 600cc engine on the same Eon body with decent (35-40 BHP) power and price 2-3 variants within the Rs 2.5-Rs 3 lakh band.

Having said that, this is a common situation being faced by car owners across manufacturers, given the thick competition to win customers and revise their products/prices. For example, those who bought the Jazz could still be cursing Honda for reducing later Jazz cars by almost Rs 1 lakh.
  1. I don't understand why manufacturers aren't bringing in low bhp cars ; remember the good ol' padmini was churning only ~35bhp but was still able to work.Given crawling traffic in cities now,even a 20bhp would suffice for pure city driving.
  2. IMHO the only manufacturer to have kept customer perception good is Maruti
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Old 23rd June 2012, 12:36   #29
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Re: Hyundai launches new variants for the EON. LPG kit too

I have recently bought a EON delight + with LPG .The initial ownership is not very encouraging as the car is prone to abrupt jerks both in petrol in LPG versions of the car .
Please get thorough test drive before jumping to EON band wagon .
See the detailed initial ownership report at http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...adventure.html
You may end up my way and suffer a curse .
regards
Praveen singh
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