Team-BHP - Near identical cars, but Venue outsells the Sonet! Why?

I recently purchased a pre worshipped Kia Sonet HTX IMT Turbo Petrol, and have been very happy with my purchase. I went through many reviews of C-SUV styled cars before finalizing the Sonet.

One thing that caught my eye is, in Sonet and Venue, you have two very competent cars, however, the Venue completely dominates the Sonet in terms of sales. That said, I am very curious to understand, how the Venue manages to outsell the Sonet, which I believe to be a better vehicle, especially in terms of equipment. As can be seen from the sales of both cars for past 6 months, the Venue manages to outsell Sonet by 30-50% each month.

Both cars get same set of engines, gearboxes and share many parts. Both cars are from same Hyundai/Kia group, therefore we can expect the after sales and reliability of both cars to be similar.

That said, the Sonet takes a clear lead in terms of equipment. I have compared both cars highest selling variants, and the Sonet clearly has much more equipment to offer as can be seen in the below data. The Sonet also offers the much sought after Diesel + AT combo, which is absent in the Venue. The equipment gap widens in their respective top variants.

So what is the reason for substantially more customers choosing the Hyundai over Sonet? Is it the 25K price difference between the twins? Or is the Brand Hyundai that much stronger for customers to not even visit a Kia showroom? Would like to hear your opinions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CR07 (Post 5289299)

The Venue completely dominates the Sonet in terms of sales

I can think of two reasons:
1. Venue variants are cheaper than Sonet equivalents
2. Availability of Venue is far better. Kia had two shifts at the plant with Seltos having priority (probably due to margins). Now they have three shifts but that would probably help cover just Carens given the demand for it. So the waiting period on Sonet won't improve.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CR07 (Post 5289299)

Both cars get same set of engines, gearboxes and share many parts. Both cars are from same Hyundai/Kia group, therefore we can expect the after sales and reliability of both cars to be similar.

That said, the Sonet takes a clear lead in terms of equipment. I have compared both cars highest selling variants, and the Sonet clearly has much more equipment to offer as can be seen in the below data.

Missed attaching the feature variance between HTX IMT of Sonet and Venue SX.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR (Post 5289446)

Baleno and Glanza - Identical except for the badges, but the sales figures speak for themselves. As others have mentioned above - brand reach plays a vital role and this is one of the best examples for it.

IMHO, Baleno and Glanza are a separate case considering even the Glanza is built at Maruti’s facility where the Toyota badges are added to what is basically the Baleno. So it’s basically Maruti supplying cars to Toyota.

And sales numbers of the Glanza are basically what Maruti supplies to Toyota in a month.

I agree sales and service networks of both manufacturers is hugely different.

Apart from the far better dealer network, I believe Hyundai is also able to prioritize the Venue over say the i10 and i20 due better margins during this period of chip shortage while Kia doesn't have that option given Sonet is the smallest car they have currently. But I agree Sonet is a much better car than Venue and if I were in the market the Sonet top end petrol AT would be my top choice in this segment.

Most key reasons have already been outlined here. But adding a couple more points.
- Resale - in the mind of a common man, Hyundai enjoys better recall and better resale (ability, not necessarily value)
- it could be just me, but I feel the Venue seems to age better than the Sonet. I have seen a few Sonets with faded plastic (rear quarter), duller looking paint (black).
- The design language - Venue looks like a ‘mini creta’ but Sonet doesn’t really ‘have the looks’. KIA generally has agresssive looking fronts but the Sonet doesn’t look the part.

Its the same story in Creta - Seltos case:

-Hyundai has a simpler variant line-up (lesser features to distribute among relatable variant names). By the time you compare the same priced variants you realise that you can manage without the extra long DRL and without the HUD etc.
- Hyundai has a larger dealer base.
- Hyundai looks like a more approachable brand with their less swanky dealerships.
- I also blame some malpractices like not allowing insurance from outside (a few cases reported earlier) in case of Kia.
- Flexible warranty package that suits the driver’s usage pattern offered by Hyundai? Maybe Kia also offers that.

I can think of the following additional points in Venue - Sonet case:

- Rear seat in the Venue has more legroom.
- Boxy looks of the Venue rather than the weirdly curved D-pillar in the Sonet. Has more SUV-ish appeal.

My 2 cents below

Sonet design is too funky for some buyers. Especially elder buyers.
Hyundai has more production capacity compared to Kia, which reduces wait time.
Hyundai dealership is vast compared to Kia.
Resale value perception of Hyundai is better compared to Kia.
Service center visibility is high for Hyundai, there are 4 authorized Hyundai service centers within 10 kms radius of my home.

Both are very capable machines, I would personally prefer Sonet over Venue. For me Venue looks like mini Creta and I really hate Creta (even though my father owns one).

In my opinion, the simple reason is - jo dikhta h woh bikta h.

Hyundai just have this habit of making sure they have a sales outlet usually within walking distance from prime Maruti Arena and Nexa outlets. Maruties sell more because they have a larger sales and service network and they have a large network because they sell well. I'm assuming Hyundai have a disproportionate avg sales per dealership to no. of dealerships ratio compared to Maruti. They have a fairly strong dealership presence for about half of Maruti's sales.

The cars we see on the road and in our friends and family's garages also attract more sales because we have spent enough time with the car to fall in love with it. (You know potential buyers are usually emotional about their shortlisted vehicles during their pre-purchase phase.)

Kia have a solid presence in bigger cities but Hyundai have pretty much covered the entire country and their sales/service network is second only to Maruti's.

I'm also seeing this same phenomenon with Tata cars. The Nexon, Punch, Harrier and Safari are all overpriced and they still sell in good numbers. Even the Tiago and Altroz, which don't have the 'SUV' tag are doing pretty well. I'm sure someone who recently purchased a Tata car or is in the pre-purchase phase, will try to prove me wrong. But, I'll have to dismiss it as the emotions talking. I'm more interested in listening to the justifications for Tata Cars = VFM from someone who shortlisted one and then rejected it.

This is also because Tata are now copying Hyundai's moves. In Bhiwadi, I'm seeing a new Tata showroom under construction right next to a fancy Nexa dealership. Tata also moved into the Manesar NH8 location, where Hyundai and Maruti Arena are next-door neighbors.

While you are checking out a Brezza, you can also take a look at the Venue and the Nexon, which are a quick 50-100m walk away. And brings it full circle to the sales <-> dealership presence ratio.

2 Words Brand & Outreach

- Hyundai is a bigger brand and commands way larger trust than KIA. Everyone knows Hyundai but KIA is known to a limited set

- Accessibility of KIA is limited to the number of cities it has its showroom in, Hyundai city level coverage and even with in the city local dealer presence is 10X better than KIA, so KIA as a option is not available to some

- Service Network - People need assurance in terms of availability of service in event of breakdown at remote area. Hyundai service network beats KIA's by insane margin on this