Hyundai has managed to sell 5,00,000 units of the Solaris, known as the Verna in India, in a span of 4.5 years in Russia.
One of the popular brands in Russia, Hyundai has sold 5,00,000 units of the Solaris in the country. Sold as both sedan and hatchback, the vehicle gets loads of features making it a value for money buy. Since the launch in 2011, the Solaris has got various updates and facelifts to make it look fresh in the market. The latest facelift was launched early last year which also made way to the Indian market early this year. The price of the sedan starts at around 4.97 lakh Rubles (Rs. 4.97 lakhs) whereas the hatchback prices start from 4.87 lakh Rubles (Rs. 4.87 lakhs). This makes it cheaper than the similar Verna sold in India.
The recent update to the Hyundai Solaris was concentrated more on the exterior and the interiors remained the same at large. New bumpers, lights and grille were the most noticeable changes. On the mechanical front, the sedan and hatchback get only petrol options in Russia which are similar to the Verna in India. The transmission options differ a bit though. While the 1.4-litre petrol engine comes mated to a 4-speed manual transmission, the 1.6-litre petrol engine has an option of a 6-speed manual transmission or a 6-speed automatic transmission.
Although the second largest automaker in India, Hyundai hasn’t been able to be the leader in the segment its Verna competes in. The sedan has been out shadowed by the Honda City which is the current segment leader. The major reason for lower sales of the Korean sedan is the fact that its fluidic design has started looking a bit old now and the recent facelift couldn’t really help the looks. Add to the fact that the competitors are advertising higher fuel efficiency numbers, customers are getting lured towards those numbers. Things might change in the future when Hyundai decides to come up with the next generation Verna.
