Hyundai is expected to launch its 2,000cc Elantra car later this month, which might be the priciest sedan to be assembled in Pakistan. An expert believes that it would be priced above Honda Civic Turbo, which is currently the costliest sedan car assembled in the country.
Hyundai has already been assembling the H100-Porter pick-up truck and SUV Tucson. H100-Porter was previously known as Shehzore. The company sells the imported Grand Starex, Ioniq Hybrid and the seven-seater Santa FE vehicles too.
“I think if Hyundai launches Elantra’s 2,000cc variant then it will cost more than Toyota Corolla Grande and Honda Civic, making it the priciest car,” said Usman Ansari, an auto sector expert who runs blogging website carspiritpk.com.
A source revealed that Hyundai would initially launch the 2,000cc variant of Elantra, without sharing the company’s future plans.
Ansari said Hyundai was positioning itself in Pakistan as a premium brand by pricing its car slightly above the category’s expected competitor.
“We have seen it when it launched Tucson (crossover SUV) and priced it above Kia’s Sportage,” he said. “So, I think they may do something similar with Elantra too.”
Ansari was critical of Hyundai’s strategy as worldwide Elantra is taken at most similar to Corolla and Civic. Top Civic variant is priced at Rs4.7 million, while Corolla’s top variant Altis Grande is priced at Rs4 million. Ansari thinks the company may price Elantra above Rs4.7 million to attract the elite class.