Competition at every level is stiff and Hyundai and BMW, both have their own agenda with the recently launched Hyundai Grand i10 and BMW 1 series hatchbacks. The initiative might be different and have to fight different battles along the way but the quest is the same – ‘to reach the top’. Hyundai, for such a long time, has been the second biggest passenger auto maker in the country and wants to attain the crown and beat Maruti at its game, whereas Mercedes has been the reason BMW has gone this aggressive in the Indian car market.
BMW dethroned the long term reign of Mercedes, which offered the first taste of luxury to the Indian car market but went stale after its initial success leading other German auto marquees like BMW and Audi to drive into the market and reach the top two positions. The Mercedes clan till now, was not sitting quietly but had not gone this vocal and forceful with its future plans of bringing on the new models to find its way back to the top. The tremors in the hosue of BMW were apparent, leading to the launch of the 1 Series against the Mercedes Benz A class to offer variety in the entry level luxury market and draw the potential Merc buyers towards it.
The slashed off entry level luxury market is the new trend in the market and has the potential to capture 25% of the market share of the luxury segment. The Indian market is at its all time low with the value of the rupee going down and the increase in taxes along with the hike in petrol and diesel prices turning all this into a Black Friday in the Indian auto industry. Amidst all these turbulence, the luxury segment auto majors devised a new strategy – apart from refreshing the existing products, they have also slashed off a major chunk in the price tag to lure the buyers.
No, doubt Indian car buyers opt for what defines the status and are extremely price biased. A major price cut off in the BMW 1 series hatch can be the answer for this all time low market and keep the competition at bay. The BMW 1 series is also feature-loaded along with powerful engine options that offers superb mileage; however, what lacks is that cabin area is not as exciting and unique as that of the Merc A Class and the interior space is a bit cramped. So these are the two flaws in the otherwise alluring package of the BMW 1 series.
Coming to the Hyundai Grand i10, the hatch is loaded with many first-in-class features like 2 Din integrated Audio system with 1 GB of internal memory, steering mounted audio and Bluetooth controls, a cooled glove box, Rear AC vents, Push button start, Smart Key, Electronically Adjustable and foldable OVRMs along with competitive price and frugal engine line-up. The design and technology makes it a true competitor against the Swift, which has not seen real rivals till now. As Hyundai i20 price range was hefty in comparison to Swift while the Hyundai i10 hatch was just available in petrol variants with the diesel option missing, Hyundai Grand i10 is the perfect competitor of Maruti Suzuki Swift and comes with futuristic fludic design exteriors which are one step ahead of Swift.
While Hyundai is planning to beat Maruti at its own game, BMW wants to cut the rising head of the Mercedes brand in the luxury market; BMW 1 series and Hyundai Grand i10 seems to mark the first round of the revolutionary journey which has been undertaken by these auto majors.
Story sourced from www.cardekho.com