[Debajyoti]

I think the problem is not the 9.01 lakh price tag or the 4 speed AT. Elite i20 is a premium hatchback so people are ready to pay the premium price, as a matter of fact out of all the Elite i20 I have seen on road, 97-98% were topend Asta or Asta (O), remaining were Sportz, only 1-2 were Magna. Magna has just 2 airbags and a 2 DIN HU, but losses ABS, ACC, alloys, parking sensors etc long list of features. So this particular variant doesn't really gives you the premium, uncompromised, elite feeling. Maybe a Sportz AT even at 9.5lakh would have made more sense.

[i74js]

Let the reason be price and not the old tech 4 speed TC be the reason for poor sales of i20 AT - this may well be the plan of HMIL while coming up with AT option.

- If they would have given 6 speed with all the bells and whistles, it would have started cannibalizing Creta, which Hyundai will not want at the moment

- Even a 4 speed with a Asta / Sport trim would have created a ripple in Creta sales because Creta has not evenly spaced the specifications among trims similar to i20. The i20 planning and feature list is generous and very evenly spaced, while Creta forces you to move upwards to the next trim at the time of purchase

They would very much want to differentiate Creta from i20 elite, though 1 is sub-four meter and other is more, yet both cater to young families / executives. Keeping them apart is thus required

The AT option has been given just to complete the portfolio; you might have seen Hyundai advertising AT in all its cars for past 2 - 3 months and i20 was missing in that advertisement. Now they will present everything form i10Grand until SantaFe in their advertisements

I would say this is a calculated move.

[aptiwa]

I find the pricing atrocious. It's ridiculous that a Korean car has lesser equipment and higher price than a German one.

What were you thinking Hyundai? You've given people the best reason to go for the VW GT TSI.

I hope this does to Hyundai what the Aria did to Tata.

[Su-47]

Originally Posted by i74js

I would say this is a calculated move.

That is a really interesting take on this issue.

Had read about the concept of decoy/contrast pricing, and this sounds similar. Here is a link: http://www.mequoda.com/articles/digi...lishing-world/

[itsashishsharma]

Originally Posted by Debajyoti

Elite i20 is a premium hatchback so people are ready to pay the premium price, Maybe a Sportz AT even at 9.5lakh would have made more sense.

How much premium are we talking about? An Asta AT used to cost less than what a Magna AT costs today. This is just outright hillarious. A Sportz AT at 9.5 L? My fully loaded diesel Fiesta cost me 12.50 L onroad. Do you think it makes sense to buy a petrol hatchback with age old tech and scary handling at that price?

Originally Posted by i74js

I would say this is a calculated move.

If they wanted the Creta to not get affected by i20 AT, they should have lauched the Magna AT at 7.50 L, so as to space out the two models. By this atrocious pricing, they have put i20 closer to Creta if anything! This one won't sell at all.

Originally Posted by Su-47

Had read about the concept of decoy/contrast pricing, and this sounds similar.

So just to make the Creta look more VFM, Hyundai have priced the i20 AT rediculously high? Well if it makes money sense to them, good for them, but why at all we are discussing about this car anymore then? I love the Polo GT TSi and that is what I am gonna suggest to people around me, or the Baleno AT if their budget is tight.

[shankar.balan]

Does it have a 1.4 crdi engine?
Is there a More powerful petrol engine too?

The Elite and the Elite Active are let down by their underpowered engines in the manual avatar.

[Karthik Chandra]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Does it have a 1.4 crdi engine?

i20 is powered by the 1.4 CRDi producing 90 BHP and 220 NM of torque

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Is there a More powerful petrol engine too?

The international i20 is powered by 1.0 ltr turbo charged Kappa T-GDi which produces 100 BHP and 171 NM of torque

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The Elite and the Elite Active are let down by their underpowered engines in the manual avatar.

The 1.4 CRDI is a gem and is punchy. The 1.2 petrol is a commuter engine at best and feels sluggish due to the weight of the car

[sachinayak]

Sorry for this completely off-topic post.

Have seen this topic/thread many times and have always wondered if Hyundai knows something that we all do not. Thus it is stubbornly (and justifiably) not launching it.

Guess they knew the launch price. Perhaps they too know that at this price, it wasn't worth the launch.

[Turbohead]

2 years ago when we upgraded from the i20 to the Vento, my dad's biggest grouse was that the VW wasn't as feature rich as the Hyundai! Look how the times have changed! The GT TSI is any day feature rich compared to the Magna AT!
But I'm pretty sure Hyundai was aiming at the ladies as they mostly care about looks! The non enthusiasts will also walk into the Hyundai showroom due to the hype surrounding the Elite i20! I'm expecting atleast 500 to 1000 copies per month. All this is possible unless people walk into a Maruti showroom and ask for the Ciaz/Ertiga AT price list!

[shibujp]

Though launching the i20 AT in Magna trim only is going to be a serious flaw, at least Hyundai has offered the AT with the 1.4 litre VTVT engine ( 100bhp 13.5kgm). This in itself will be a relief.

I guess the increased cost of the engine and the transmission would have made the pricing of the AT in the top end ASTA trim unviable. To be fair Hyundai has used this strategy before, offering the i10 AT in Sportz trim only.

Will this strategy work to pull in the numbers? One way to look at it is that the Elite i20 is the only premium hatch with a petrol offering. That coupled with it's strengths like space, great looks etc may prove to be a strong package. If it can beat the single digit mileage figures of it's 1.2 AT sibling it may just have a chance.

Drive on,
Shibu.

[SoumenD]

Weren't we sounding similarly disappointed when CRETA was launched? But where is it now? Setting the monthly chart on fire inspite of the optimistic pricing. And that has given further air to Hyundai's confidence/arrogance(take your pick?) in their product/s.

They know no matter what, people(the masses) will still buy their product as long as they have the looks. And come to think of it, they are already selling 10k+ copies of elite i20 a month. So I guess they themselves don't expect to move too many copies of this variant. And yeah someone rightly pointed, having an ASTA variant with automatic transmission would potentially have cannibalized some of CRETA auto sales. Hence, this is more of a namesake launch just to say 'Yes, we do offer automatic variant as well'

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by i74js

- If they would have given 6 speed with all the bells and whistles, it would have started cannibalizing Creta, which Hyundai will not want at the moment

- Even a 4 speed with a Asta / Sport trim would have created a ripple in Creta sales because Creta has not evenly spaced the specifications among trims similar to i20. The i20 planning and feature list is generous and very evenly spaced, while Creta forces you to move upwards to the next trim at the time of purchase

Why do you say so? It would interesting to know.

Recently, as many as 4 people i know bought the Creta and the i20 was never even an option. And their reason was just the form factor and the fact that it is a new car (recent launch over the i20).

I somehow feel that both the cars appeal to a different set of buyers.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Su-47

Had read about the concept of decoy/contrast pricing, and this sounds similar.

Originally Posted by i74js

I would say this is a calculated move.

Cmon gentlemen, the Creta is already selling at 8K+ units a month. Why does it need contrast pricing with a car 2 segments down to look VFM? And you guys are really forgetting the Verna that sits inbetween

If at all, it is making the Verna 1.6 petrol S AT look VFM. On paper the difference between i20 Magna AT(10.49L) and Verna 1.6 S AT (12.17 L) is 1.6 lakhs. The Creta Petrol SX AT is a further 3.6 lakhs north at 15.76 L. With a 5L price difference, I don't see why the pricing of these cars should affect one another.

There are based on Carwale OTR prices for Madras.

[itsashishsharma]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Cmon gentlemen, the Creta is already selling at 8K+ units a month. Why does it need contrast pricing with a car 2 segments down to look VFM? And you guys are really forgetting the Verna that sits inbetween

If at all, it is making the Verna 1.6 petrol S AT look VFM. On paper the difference between i20 Magna AT(10.49L) and Verna 1.6 S AT (12.17 L) is 1.6 lakhs. The Creta Petrol SX AT is a further 3.6 lakhs north at 15.76 L. With a 5L price difference, I don't see why the pricing of these cars should affect one another.

There are based on Carwale OTR prices for Madras.

I couldn't agree more. This is just a pricing disaster. Just because Hyundai has done exceedingly well in understanding Indian market and good with pricing almost always, doesn't mean that they are correct this time too.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by i74js

The AT option has been given just to complete the portfolio; you might have seen Hyundai advertising AT in all its cars for past 2 - 3 months and i20 was missing in that advertisement. Now they will present everything form i10Grand until SantaFe in their advertisements

I would say this is a calculated move.

Agree with this view point. The point that 'i20 does not have an AT option' keeps coming up a lot even in discussions here. So the launch is mostly for completeness. Most regular buyers out there will not know in detail about the variant or the price until they approach a showroom. They now see the ads and add Hyundai to their list. Once in a showroom, most will realize that it is atrociously priced. But Hyundai have got them in- they can attempt to push the Grand i10, Xcent, Creta or even the Verna. Maybe they can even do the unthinkable-Position the Creta as a VFM offering

Apart from all this, I am sure there will be buyers. After all, we all keep cribbing about how the Creta is over priced. 8000+ buyers a month don't seem to think so.