NEW DELHI: Poor demand in the market has forced Korean car manufacturer Hyundai to map the phase-out of its Getz hatchback model with the company deciding to stop production of the model in the coming months.
H S Lheem, managing director of Hyundai’s India subsidiary, said the company was withdrawing the model from market with sales averaging between 500 and 1000 vehicles per month. ‘‘Production of the Getz would be stopped shortly and it will be gradually phased out from the market,’’ Lheem said on the sidelines of the SIAM conference here.
Getz was launched by the company in 2004 as a premium hatchback, but failed to cut much ice in the market as it faced stiff competition from Suzuki’s Swift that was a hotseller right from the word go. Hyundai may also be looking at withdrawing the model after a good response to its new i20 model, that has also been positioned as a premium hatchback and has been one of the flagship models for the company. ‘‘The i20 has been doing well for us and against a projection of 12000 units initially, we plan to sell 40000 units his year,’’ Lheem said. The company had sold about 1.10 lakh units of the Getz since its launch.
