Hyundai ships 1,360 units of Alcazar in May 2021!

Hyundai is all set to launch the Alcazar in June 2021 and has shipped 1,360 units last month. It has already overtaken the dispatch volumes of Hector, Compass, and XUV500 even before its launch!

Hyundai India is all set to expand its SUV product portfolio with Alcazar in June 2021. The South Korean automaker had recently released a promotional video of its upcoming Hyundai Alcazar SUV and showed the brand’s existing SUV lineup that included Creta, Venue, Tucson, and Kona electric. The sibling SUVs formed the ‘ALCAZAR’ name 1km in length in the Rann of Kutch.

The Alcazar is primarily Hyundai's 7-seater SUV, based on the Creta. The Alcazar was initially expected to go on sale in April, however, amidst the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown in many parts of the country, the launch of the Alcazar has been pushed to June 2021. It will be offered with two engine options - a 2.0 L petrol and a 1.5 L diesel, both paired with either a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission unit. The model is expected to be offered in 6 variants of Signature, Signature (O), Prestige, Prestige (O), Platinum and Platinum (O) variants.

• Alcazar is expected to compete with the likes of Safari, Hector, Harrier, etc basis the price range/seating configuration.

• Tata has dominated the segment currently with the Harrier+Safari duo and is now consistently outselling MG Hector+Hector Plus volumes.

• Even in May 2021, the Harrier+Safari duo sold over 2.3 times of Hector+Hector Plus twins! Tata is now leaving no stone unturned to build volumes in the segment.

• The overall dynamics of the segment is now expected to change with the entry of Alcazar. Hyundai will try and leverage Creta's legacy with Alcazar and the scale of operations Hyundai has will definitely make the model the segment best seller.

• Hyundai has made its intention clear with May'21 dispatches and is evident that it is going to seek big volumes for Alcazar and seal Hyundai's spot as India's No.1 UV manufacturer.

The lockdown in several parts of the country made it all more difficult for automakers to put their strategy in place for May 2021. With the markets slowly opening up and the new model launches (like Alcazar) happening - Will the current models protect their turf and avoid cannibalization? Only time shall tell.