With the changing customer needs, South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor India (HMI) is tapping the premium quotient with the launch of its six and seven-seater SUV Alcazar, because for the first time, the OEM has launched just three variants of the SUV compared to its multiple variant strategy which it follows for the other products.
The carmaker is also working along with 180 dealers to convert their showroom into signature outlets to address the needs of the more digitally savvy customers and require a different treatment.
Hyundai Alcazar is offered in three different trims - Prestige, Platinum and Signature. The top-end trim Signature will be only offered from Hyundai Signature outlets. This is for the first time a South Korean carmaker has adopted three trim strategy
At a media roundtable, Tarun Garg, Director, Sales, Marketing & Service, Hyundai India, said, “Indian customers are really evolving. He is becoming younger and more digital-savvy. At the same time, our digital enquiries continue to go up, and the customers are going for the high-end trims. We felt that these customers needed different kinds of treatment and experience. That has given us a way forward for our Signature outlets.”
“We are starting with some of the bigger cities and with dealers who meet our norms. Sales executives have been trained with more digital and softer skills to handle customers who are digital savvy, he added.
According to the company, a Signature outlet is the one big step to improve the overall experience, especially for these customers.
Hyundai India will offer Alcazar Signature, Elantra and Tucson through Signature outlets only.
This is not the first time a carmaker is trying to differentiate its dealership experience for higher-end products from lower-end products.
Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra & Mahindra have taken similar steps to address the need of the evolving customers. Industry experts believe that creating new outlets altogether burdens the dealer with additional infrastructure and manpower cost. However, in the case of Signature outlets of Hyundai, it is more related to training the existing workforce of certain dealer outlets to handle the customers better. So it serves as a common ground for better customer satisfaction for both carmakers and dealers.
Hyundai’s new trim strategy
Launched for INR 16.30 lakh, Hyundai Alcazar comes with both petrol and diesel options with a choice of an automatic and manual transmission.
In Alcazar, the carmaker offers features such as connectivity, a sunroof, 10.25-inch infotainment system, BlueLink connectivity, LED headlamps, and safety features, whether it is hill assist control or vehicle stability management or ESC from its base variant Prestige.
| Prestige | Platinum | Signature |
LED headlamps and LED DRLs LED taillights | Prestige + Side and curtain airbags | Platinum + Front parking sensors |
| 17-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels | Prestige + Surround-view monitor, Blind view monitor, rear-view monitor | Platinum + Black ORVMs (dual-tone variants only) |
| 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto | Prestige + Electronic parking brake with auto-hold function | Platinum + Matte black roof rails (dual-tone variants only) |
| BlueLink connectivity | Prestige + Eight-way power adjustable driver seat | Platinum + Black shark fin antenna (dual-tone variants only) |
| Panoramic sunroof | Prestige + Bose-sourced music system with eight-speakers | Platinum + Black rear spoiler (dual-tone variants only) |
| Smart key with push-button start | Prestige + Ventilated front seats | _ |
| Remote engine start with smart key | - | _ |
Comparing it to the competition, Hyundai India is trying to make premium features as standard, making the segment competitive.
Industry experts say this is contrary to Hyundai’s multiple variant strategy, giving customers more options in different price bands. Its most popular SUV, Creta has about 14 variant categories: base model E, EX, S, SX, and SX (O).