Team-BHP
(
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)
Can it? I do not know.
Should it? Hell yeah. This is my favorite D-segment saloon. Very very overlooked.
Hyundai can pull it off, but they would have to do some really innovative marketing and brand positioning e.g. Giving Sonata owners some High End Privelage cards to some clubs in major cities or something on such lines.
Only if an owner gets some FLAUNT value with a car above 10 lacs in India does he buy it(90% of the times) and obviously Honda, VW, Skoda have more of that compared to Hyundai
Don't forget the success of the S-type look alike Sonata. Back in the day it outsold the then Accord 5 to 1.
they have the right car this time and they are gonna be very hard to compete against!! but watch out for a price increase!!
The car is a stunner and looks good to me, leaving aside the said deteriorating standards of hyundai and lack of a badge, i will buy this car if it delivers what it promises from its looks.
And different car makers have followed different strategy in our country. Toyota started out with Qualis and moved on to the to segment. Honda caters to practically all segments. Maruti make money out of smaller cars.
I wouldnt hold it against hyundai if they have provided us with hatches. They offer some pretty good and competitive cars in other markets. Its time for them to bring in some competition that can offer alternatives to the accords and camrys.
Frankly i dont subscribe to the theory of looks similarity = failure theory. There are only that many ways you can style a front grill or shape a headlight. some amount of 'inspiration or 'similarity in design to one or the other , in my opinion, is arguably unavoidable.
If i were to do it , i would prefer to keep things simple.
1) Change the name, Sonata is not a name that rings bell in the same breath as Accord or Camry, it didnt do well in its earlier avtars.. and avoid i 40 as well.. this is a different segment we are talking about. give it a name which projects an image, that can have a definition, an identification.
2) Splurge on value add ons. Extend the service etc etc, bring in some exclusivity in ownership.
3) Diesel.
4) Make sure its a good product and delivers for its pricing. A man who spends so many lacs on his car, most probably knows his cars.
We have all sorts of ppl buying all sorts of cars. Some will blindly go for badge. Some will go for value ( Superb, even after the horror stories) and some will be wiser.
This car from its looks has the potential to succeed. Rest will depend upon its price point and what it offers under the hood.
My vote . YES
Quote:
Originally Posted by abhi1309
(Post 1585861)
Don't forget the success of the S-type look alike Sonata. Back in the day it outsold the then Accord 5 to 1.
|
Honda's old look dull accord deserves more credit for that then the sonata's looks. The competetion itself was nonexistent and hence the old sonata sold.
(that said the inspired looks were good overall.)
Definitely a big no because they have a small car budget image and most of their cars above the 11 lak price range are a copy of some other manufacturer. So unless it's priced very cheap close to the Cruze there is no point going in for it.
Hyundai has just launched a 2.4L direct petrol engine power train called 2.4 theta 2 GDI that will power the latest KDM sonata. It makes 201 bhp and more than 37 kg-m of torque.
Sid:do you have any scoop on this sonata when it will be lunched in India?
It would be very tough for Hyundai to make it succeed in the Indian Market . Percieved as a maker of quality econo cars for the middle class , Indians have shown reluctance to buy Hyundais which are anything above ten lakh rupees . The Tuscon , Sonata , Terrecan , Elantra have failed in the past . This is of course a far better effort by Huyndai , but brand value will have to be upped a lot for this to sell.
I just voted yes for the poll. What does it deserve is another questionlol:
I would vote for 'Yes'. The car looks great and what should make the difference is the pricing and the what extra can it give w.r.t to the current cars in this segment. If they put in a lot of add ons and with a powerful engine and other stuff like warranties etc, i dont see why this shouldnt take off in the indian market, like how the cruze has made a mark for itself right now considering the chevy brand name in india.
The appearance of Sonata is fantastic. Wonder how Hyundai is working upon design. They have new Tuscon completely different from the existing one.
Our Indians are more biased towards brand value. Though people know that SKODA will rip them off, but they still go for it. But thats not the case with Hyundai, its completely a different ball-game.
| All times are GMT +5.5. The time now is 15:46. | |
