Hyundai planning CKD operations for Santa Fe?

After miserable attempts of tapping the SUV market through the Tuscon and the Terracan, the Santa Fe has finally clicked for Hyundai as a SUV product. However, the company has still not managed to harness the potential of the SUV because it is brought to India in CBU form which results in a huge price tag.

However, Hyundai India plans to set things right by opting in for CKD operations for the Santa Fe. According to The HinduBusinessLine, the Santa Fe is currently undergoing homologation duties at ARAI. Such type of testing is generally done a few months before local assembly starts.

When asked about the recent development, Mr Arvind Saxena, Director, Marketing and Sales, Hyundai Motor India said,

Starting CKD operations for the Santa Fe is part of our plan. Typically, we would wait for volumes to touch at least 150 units a month for it to make sense economically. At present, we are doing about 100 units a month.

By opting in for CKD operations, the Santa Fe could get considerably cheaper as CKD attracts less taxes.

The company also said that it will start a fresh round of bookings for the Santa Fe in June and this time it plans to sell 1,400 units in the current year.

Will the reduction in price tag make the Santa Fe more attractive buy vis-à-vis the current favorite Toyota Fortuner

Source - thehindubusinessline.com