Hyundai Creta SUV launched at a starting price of Rs 8.59 lakh

NEW DELHI: Hyundai Motors on Tuesday introduced its muchawaited compact SUV, Creta, pitting it against Renault’s Duster and Mahindra’s Scorpio with more features and an attractive starting price tag of Rs 8.59 lakh.

India’s compact SUV market had been swelling with the younger generation preferring these vehicles over compact hatchback and sedans. The five-seater Creta will be available in 10 variants across the country. The base model of the 1.6-litre petrol version will cost Rs 8.59 lakh (exshowroom, Delhi) while the top end will come for Rs 11.19 lakh. The diesel version — available in two engine offerings of 1.4 litre and 1.6 litre — will be in the Rs 9.46 lakh to Rs 13.6 lakh bracket. Hyundai has already received about 15,000 bookings for the Creta till as of press time. “Going by customer response, we can increase our monthly production capacity to around 7,000 for Creta,” said Hyundai Motor India managing director and chief executive Bo Shin Seo. “We currently can manufacture 5,500 units a month. Creta is likely to push our domestic sales target to around 4.8 lakh units for 2015 from the original 6.65 units, and help us post a robust double-digit growth in this calendar year.”

In the April-June period this year, Hyundai posted 7% growth compared with 10.63% a year ago. Creta, made in the Chennai plant, will also be exported to other markets like South Africa, Latin America and some African markets of Hyundai. The brand will be used for all the global markets. Before Creta, Hyundai had introduced a premium SUV, Santa Fe, and the sport-styled i20 Active.Creta Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) was launched on Tuesday at a starting price of Rs 8.59 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The Creta will be available in petrol and diesel variants.

All variants of the Creta get ABS and EBD as standard. Mid-level variants offer dual front airbags, while the top-end SX gets side and curtain airbags with VSM and ESC.

A 1.6-litre CRDi VGT diesel engine delivers 128 PS and 259 Nm of torque, and is paired to a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed automatic transmission. Also available is a 1.4-litre CRDi diesel rated at 90 PS and 220 Nm of torque.

For buyers on the lookout for a petrol variant, HMIL will offer its 1.6-litre Dual VTVT engine with a 6-speed manual transmission as well.




Creta is being launched globally for the first time in India. The roll-out of the five-seater SUV in the country would be followed by launches in other international markets.

"We are confident that Creta will strengthen Hyundai's position in India. It will define SUV segment in the country," Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) Managing Director and CEO, B S Seo said.

The SUV comes with various features including navigation system, smart key with push button start and leather seats.

Hyundai has received 15000 confirmed consumer interest or pre-bookings till now.



The company is aiming to offer a complete package of aggressive pricing, good looks, high equipment levels and first in industry unlimited warranty for three years and 20% lower spare parts cost to wean away prospective customers of Renault Duster, Ford EcoSport and Mahindra Scorpio.

Rakesh Srivastava, SR VP, sales and marketing at Hyundai Motor India told ET, "The response to Creta has been tremendous. We have had successful product launches in last couple of years but none has matched the reception that Creta has."

To be sure, Elite i20 premium hatchback got 10,000 bookings in the first 20 days of its launch and Creta seems to have bettered that.

In a segment where the diesel is the pre-dominant fuel option for the buyers, based on the initial response, Hyundai Motor India expects 25% of its total sales to come from petrol run vehicle and almost 15% of it will be with automatic transmission, which is double of its earlier estimates, said people in the know of Hyundai Motor India's plans.

The company has re-oriented its plans based on the initial interest from the consumers. To make the most of the upcoming festive season, the company had advanced the launch of the vehicle by a couple of months.

Hyundai aims to sell a minimum of 5000 units per month and sees the vehicle contributing significantly to its double digit growth target of 13-14% to 4.65 lakh units for the domestic market.

Hyundai Creta Petrol:

Hyundai Creta 1.6L Petrol Base – Rs 8.59 lakh

Hyundai Creta 1.6L Petrol S – Rs 9.57 lakh

Hyundai Creta 1.6L Petrol SX+ – Rs 11.19 lakh

Hyundai Creta 1.4L Diesel:

Hyundai Creta 1.4L CRDi Base – Rs 9.46 lakh

Hyundai Creta 1.4L CRDi S – Rs 10.42 lakh

Hyundai Creta 1.4L CRDi S+ – Rs 11.45 lakh

Hyundai Creta 1.6L Diesel:

Hyundai Creta 1.6L CRDi SX – Rs 11.59 lakh

Hyundai Creta 1.6L CRDi SX+ – Rs 12.67 lakh

Hyundai Creta 1.6L CRDi SX+ AT – Rs 13.57 lakh

Hyundai Creta 1.6L CRDi SX – Rs 13.60 lakh