Hyundai has just sold the 10 millionth Elantra which has taken the company 24 years. The automaker has made five generations of the Hyundai Elantra and the latest model has found the most success.
The Hyundai Elantra is a very popular car but the same couldn’t be said five years back. Hyundai took a giant leap with the fifth generation model which has not only put the sales chart on fire for the Korean firm but also got them rave reviews, including the coveted North American car of the year award. Hyundai has now sold the 10 millionth Elantra (that is 1 crore cars) and the nameplate made its first appearance in the year 1990. Thus Hyundai sells 4,20,000 units of the Elantra every year and 1100 cars every day.
The Hyundai Elantra hasn’t found success by coincidence. It’s a well specced car with a load of features and fares well in terms or reliability. The vehicle got the highest ranking in its segment by JD Power’s 2014 US Initial Quality Study. That is no mean feat considering this segment comprises of other hot sellers and big name plates including the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Volkswagen Jetta, Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus. The company is already working on the next generation of the Elantra which is due for launch next year.
In the Indian context, two generations of the Hyundai Elantra have been sold. The third generation model found little success as it came too early when the market simply wouldn’t accept a Rs. 10 lakh Hyundai vehicle. Today the scenario is different, Hyundai is comfortably selling a Rs. 35 lakh Santa Fe as the brand has evolved. The latest generation Elantra was launched in India in 2012 and has been doing decent numbers, in spite of the D-segment shrinking in size as people turn towards similarly priced SUVs. Hyundai will launch the Elantra facelift in our country early next year.
