Hyundai launches micro SUV Exter in India at Rs 5.99 lakh starting price, to compete with Tata Punch

The new SUV will compete directly with Tata Motors’ Punch. It comes powered by a 1.2-litre petrol engine mated with both manual and automatic variants.

The five-speed manual trims, with a claimed fuel efficiency of 19.4 km per litre, are priced between Rs 5.99 lakh and Rs 9.31 lakh. The five-speed automatic version is priced at Rs 7.96 lakh with a claimed fuel efficiency of 19.2 km per litre.

The CNG version’s price is Rs 8.23 lakh. It will have an efficiency of 27.1 km per kg, according to the company’s claims.

The Exter boasts a boot space of 391 litres, ground clearance of 185 mm, dash cam with dual cameras, electric sunroof, six airbags as standard and various connected features, numbers provided by the company at the launch event showed.

With Exter, Hyundai is now a full-range SUV manufacturer in the country, India MD and CEO Unsoo Kim said at the launch event. The company has invested Rs 950 crore on developing the model, he added.The model will bring in additional volumes for the company while strengthening its overall SUV portfolio, Hyundai Motor India COO Tarun Garg said. He noted that sales in the entry-level SUV segment could touch 20,000-22,000 units per month with the launch of Exter.According to him, “Exter is our eighth SUV model in the country. With this, now we are the only company to offer products in the six SUV sub-segments.”

For the company, the contribution of the SUVs in its overall sales has gone up to 54 per cent currently from 34 per cent in 2019, Garg said.

The company already sells SUV models like Venue, Creta, Alcazar, Tucson, Kona Electric and Ioniq 5.

As per industry data, Tata Punch current monthly sales numbers are at around 11,000 units per month. 2022 sales of the model were at 1,29,895 units. In the January-June period of 2023, sales stood at 67,117 units.