Kia Seltos has come under increased pressure from the new-gen Hyundai Creta in recent months; posted 34 per cent negative YoY growth in November
Hyundai Motor Group has been proving its dominance in the passenger UV space in recent months courtesy of the Hyundai Venue, Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos and Kia Sonet. The Creta was the most sold SUV in the country in November 2020 followed by the Kia Sonet compact SUV, Hyundai Venue and Kia Seltos. It must be said that Hyundai and Kia have taken the popularity of the compact and mid-size SUV segments for granted and worked on pushing it to the next level.
In November 2020, Hyundai sold a total of 12,017 units of the Creta as against 6,684 units during the same period in 2019 with a massive Year-on-Year sales growth of 80 per cent. The second-generation Creta debuted in March 2020 and it got back to the top of the sales charts with a redesigned exterior and a thoroughly updated interior with the addition of new features and technologies.
The mid-size SUV is leading the segment comfortably ahead of Kia Seltos, which was launched in August 2019. The Seltos dominated the space for many months before the new-gen Creta came in and it changed the momentum towards its favour. Last month, the Seltos registered a cumulative domestic tally of 9,205 units as against 14,005 units in November 2019 with 34 per cent volume de-growth.
The new Hyundai Creta appears to be eating into the volumes of the Kia Seltos in recent months. Both have several commonalities as they use the same 1.5-litre petrol, 1.5-litre diesel and 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engines. The gasoline unit develops 115 PS maximum power and 144 Nm of peak torque and the oil-burner kicks out 115 PS and 250 Nm.
The smaller turbo petrol produces 140 PS and 242 Nm in both the mid-size SUVs. The Seltos is priced between Rs. 9.89 lakh and it goes up to Rs. 17.34 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi) while the Creta costs is a little cheaper as it has a starting price of Rs. 9.81 lakh and it goes up to Rs. 17.31 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
Some of the highlighting features in both the models are a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, electric sunroof, wireless charging facility, LED headlamps with DRLs, automatic climate control, connectivity features and so on.