The country’s second top most car maker Hyundai could not resist the delay in launching its SUV Santa Fe and it has planned to do so in another two months. There has been high potential in this segment and Hyundai is offering its SUV at Rs22-24 lakhs, said its VP for marketing and sales. The new Santa Fe, to come as a CBU, will be a 7-seater, instead of 5, and will have a 2.2 lit diesel engine. Hyundai’s earlier SUVs Terracan and Tuscon have been in the limelight for want of global design. The company is well aware of the huge potential in SUV, a growth of 18-20% from the premium sector. The forerunner in this segment is Toyota Fortuner in a dominating stature and Hyundai is to counter the moves of this Fortuner.
Other players in this segment are Skoda Yeti, Nissan Murano, Chevrolet Captiva, Ford Endeavor, Nissan X-Trail, Honda CR-V and Mitsubishi Outlander. The SUV segment is a big avenue for every player to enter with might and the global need for SUVs is based on the fuel-efficiency. Hyundai is in an alarming situation with its entry-level Santro, i10 and i20 but same is not with its Sonata and Elantra. Of these two, Elantra will be no more in the market but Sonata will come in a refined form. But everything will come off only after the settling of Santa Fe, he added.