Even as Hyundai Motor India has launched its second compact SUV, the Exter which has already drawn over 50,000 bookings, domestic market sales data reveals that the company’s first-ever compact SUV – the Venue – has driven past the 450,000-unit sales mark in India. The latest sales milestone comes at the end of July 2023, exactly 50 months after the Venue was launched on May 21, 2019.
The Venue, currently sold in 13 variants, is available with three engine options. There’s a 1.2-litre petrol, a 1.0-litre turbo-petrol and a 1.5-litre diesel. Gearbox options include a five-speed manual, six-speed iMT and seven-speed DCT for the petrol variants and a six-speed manual for the diesel Venue. Pricing for the compact SUV starts at Rs 871,000 for the base 1.2 petrol E MT variant and goes upwards to Rs 15.40 lakh for the top-end diesel SX (O) MT variant.
The Venue is part of the most hotly contested sub-segment of the UV market: compact SUVs. This segment, which is populated by some high-selling models like the Tata Nexon, Tata Punch, Maruti Brezza, Mahindra XUV300, Bolero Neo and the Kia Sonet, along with the Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger, has seen a flurry of new entrants in the Maruti Fronx and Jimny, Citroen C3 and now the Venue’s own sibling, the Exter.
Hyundai Venue’s sales drive from 200,000 to 300,000 units and thereon to 400,000 units took an identical 11 months. The last 50,000 units took 5 months.
Journey to 450,000-unit sales
The promise of the small SUV’s big market gains was revealed in the first six months when the Venue clocked 50,000 sales. The 100,000 sales mark came up in 15 months, 200,000 in 25 months and 250,000 was crossed in 30 months. The Venue drove past the 300,000 milestone in April 2023, 36 months after launch. The sales run from 200,000 to 300,000 units and thereon to 400,000 units took an identical 11 months. The last 50,000-unit sales have taken five months – a creditable performance given the hotly contested segment the Venue is part of.
Halfway into the product lifecycle, Hyundai has adroitly maintained the freshness quotient with the rollout of the facelifted model in June 2022. The Venue’s look is now in line with newer global Hyundai SUVs such as the Tucson and Palisade.
A glance at the Hyundai Venue’s domestic market sales numbers (see data table above) over the past 50 months or four years reveals that the best 12-month performance was in FY2023 with 120,653 units, growing 15% on FY2022’s 105,091 units. In the first four months of the ongoing FY2024, the Venue has sold a total of 42,223 units, averaging 10,555 units a month. This means the Hyundai Venue is on track to drive ahead of FY2023’s sales, which gave it sixth rank in India’s Top 30 Utility Vehicles.
High on fuel efficiency
A fair portion of the Venue’s appeal goes to its fuel efficiency. Topping the list is the Venue 1.0 GDI with the 6-speed manual transmission that delivers 18.27 kilometres per litre. A close second is the 1.0 GDI with the 7-speed dual-clutch auto that has an ARAI-tested fuel economy figure of 18.15kpl. The Venue 1.2 petrol, available solely with a 5-speed manual gearbox, delivers a lower 17.52kpl. The Venue 1.4 diesel is rated for 23.7kpl.
In an effort to rev up sales of its first-ever compact SUV, Hyundai Motor India launched the Venue N Line in September 2022.
In September 2022, in an effort to rev up sales of the Venue, Hyundai launched the Venue N Line. The Venue N Line comes with a single powertrain – a 120hp, 172Nm, 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine paired to the 7-speed DCT with paddle shifters. The cosmetic changes are really the talking point – N Line badging on the front bumper, revised front and rear bumpers with red accents on the lower section, red inserts on the roof rails and new 16-inch alloy wheel design with red front callipers. The Venue N Line is available in a total of five colour options – three dual-tones and two monotones.
In April 2023, in its safety update for the Venue, Creta and i20 hatchback, Hyundai Motor India fitted three-point seatbelts on all seats, along with adjustable headrests at the rear for all variants of the Venue.
Small can also be big
When it comes to SUV sales in the Indian market, small is big. The compact SUV (models below 4,000mm length) market proves just that – in FY2023, 888,997 units representing 11 models were sold, accounting for 44% of total UV sales and 46% of the Top 30. Four models – Tata Nexon, Maruti Brezza, Tata Punch and Hyundai Venue – sold over 100,000 units each, which clearly establishes the Venue’s heft in the SUV scheme of things.
In its quick commentary on the Venue, Autocar India states: “The Hyundai Venue is a jack of all trades. Spread across a wide price band and offered with multiple engine and transmission options, the Venue caters to a broad set of buyers. It’s very user-friendly; the engines are smooth and refined; controls are light and ergonomics are spot on. The interior is feature-packed and rear seat space has also improved over the pre-facelift version. The Venue might not be the toughest, the most spacious or the comfiest compact SUV, but it does reasonably well in most areas, and that makes it a formidable contender in its space.”
Hyundai Motor India remains the firm No. 2 passenger vehicle OEM in India after Maruti Suzuki. Much of that credit goes to the Creta, Hyundai’s best-selling product and India’sa best-selling midsize SUV, as well as the Venue.
The Venue, with total sales of 454,563 units since launch, has accounted for a fifth or 20% of Hyundai Motor India’s 2.20 million passenger vehicle sales till end-July 2023, and a robust 43% of the company’s utility vehicle sales of 10,59,685 units. Now, with the new ammo in the form of the Exter, will the Hyundai Venue-Exter combination accelerate the company’s growth in the compact SUV market?
Following the recent visit of Hyundai Motor Group chairman Euisun Chung to India in early August to review mid- and long-term strategic goals, the Hyundai-Kia operation in India is tasked with a sales target of 873,000 units in CY2023. Expect the Venue to be a key contributor to the big number.
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