Hyundai Motor India, the country’s second largest car manufacturer by sales and biggest car exporter, has received a record initial export order of 10,501 units for the all new 5th generation Verna the mid-size sedan from the Middle East markets.

The new Verna will be known as the next generation Accent for the Middle East markets.

This is the single largest order for the next generation Verna that company has received since inception and a big jump compared to the earlier generations of Verna and Accent models.

Hyundai Verna has also received a great response from the domestic market, resulting in over 18,600 confirmed bookings and more than 1, 43,000 enquiries within two months since its launch in the country on August 22, 2017.

With a starting price of Rs 7.99 lakh and Rs 12.87 lakh for the top variant, the new Verna with six variants in petrol and diesel engine options competes with the likes of Honda City and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz in India. Most prominent is its new styling, and a host of segment first features that gives the model an edge over rivals.

The maker of popular Creta, Elite i20, and Tucson models has delivered about 12,000 new generation Verna to buyers before Diwali festival.

With a waiting period of two-and-a-half month, the company officials said about 20,000 units would be delivered at dealerships by the end of December.

Hyundai had invited 33 distributors from the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Oman and UAE and other Asian countries like Vietnam, Philippines, Sri Lanka, to its production facility in Chennai in September this year where they got to witness the plant as also drive the car.

“The next generation Verna has received overwhelming response from domestic and export markets,” YK Koo, managing director and CEO at Hyundai Motor India, said.

He said the brand was proud to receive such a large single export order within one month of showcasing the product to the distributors from overseas markets.

“It is in perfect harmony with Hyundai’s commitment of ‘Make in India, for the world’ and also is in line with the Indian Government’s ‘Make in India’ Vision,” Koo said.

The new generation Verna will also be exported to South Africa, other Gulf and Asian countries from the beginning of next year.

michaelgonsalves@mydigitalfc.com