<div>Hyundai Motor India Ltd, the country's leading premium car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter has received an overwhelming response for the much awaited global SUV — Creta.</div><div> </div><div>Creta is expected to compete with products like Ford Ecosport, Renault's Duster and Nissan's Terrano and others.<br><br>The SUV is due for a launch on July 21.</div><div> </div><div>Hyundai's closest competitor and market leader Maruti Suzuki is also launching the S Cross early next month. The vehicle, a crossover will be positioned as a SUV. Numbers of booking done for the S Cross was not immediately available. Prices of both the cars are not yet known.</div><div> </div><div>With Creta, Hyundai is entering the full-fledged volume segment of SUVs. </div><div> </div><div>As of now, Hyundai is present in the SUV segment in the premium category with Santa Fe and with sports-styled i20 Active.</div><div> </div><div>Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice President - Sales & Marketing, Hyundai Motor India said: "Creta has created immense excitement even before its launch with its bold and stylish looks. We are delighted to receive an overwhelming response with over 28,500 enquiries and 10,000 customers showing their interest to live the Creta life."</div><div> </div><div>The SUV segment has been growing in India since 2013 at an annual rate of 25 per cent but it has declined in the January-May period by about 6 per cent.</div><div> </div><div>Car sales in June grew 1.53 per cent from a year ago, the slowest in eight months, to 162,677 units, but the apex industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) said there is no need to sound the alarm as yet.</div><div> </div><div>Maruti Suzuki's compact sedan Dzire has emerged as the highest selling car in India in June pushing its sibling Alto behind, according to a report in the <em>Economic Times.</em></div><div> </div><div>Hyundai, the second largest passenger vehicle manufacturer by volume, has held on to the fifth position with Grand i10 which sold 8,970 units in June this year, up from 7,901 same month last year.</div><div> </div><div>Maruti has decided to sell its cars through two separate marketing networks, for which it has also revamped its top management.</div><div> </div><div>The decision is prompted by the consumers choosing other brands over Maruti when buying bigger cars, as India's largest car maker has been traditionally associated with small cars since introducing Maruti 800 in 1983.</div><div> </div><div>Maruti needs to improve its market share in the premium car category to retain its dominance in the Indian market, where sales of sedans and SUVs have grown in step with prosperity and rising aspirations, reports <em>Mint</em>.</div>
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