New Hyundai Exter off to solid sales start in SA

The new Hyundai Exter is off to a solid start, with the brand’s most affordable crossover placing inside the top 20 of SA’s best-selling passenger cars in September 2024…

The new Hyundai Exter has only just arrived in South Africa, but it’s already made a significant impact, attracting as many as 453 sales in its (partial) launch month and helping the South Korean firm grab back 4th place from Ford in September 2024.

Though the Exter’s media launch took place only on 17 September 2024, we believe Hyundai dealerships around the country began receiving limited stock of the brand’s most-affordable crossover in the opening week of the month. In addition, it seems only mid-spec Executive derivatives have thus far arrived in Mzansi.

With 453 units sold, the Exter placed 18th on the list of SA’s best-selling passenger vehicles for the month, finishing ahead of well-established (though larger and more expensive) nameplates such as the Toyota Urban Cruiser (441 units) and Volkswagen T-Cross (409 units).

In September, Hyundai registered 441 units of the Exter via the dealer channel, with the remaining 12 sold to the rental industry. That made the newcomer Hyundai Automotive SA’s 2nd most popular product for the month, finishing behind the closely related Grand i10 (1 062 units, plus 64 Cargo panel-van sales) but ahead of the Venue (370 units) and i20 hatchback (303 units).

As a reminder, the local Exter range comprises 5 derivatives, starting at R269 900 and running through to R334 900. The Indian-built Exter is offered in a trio of grades: entry-level Premium, mid-tier Executive and top-spec Elite. All employ a naturally aspirated 1.2-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine, familiar from the Grand i10, i20 and Venue.

This “Kappa” motor delivers 61 kW and 114 Nm to the front axle. Premium and Executive derivatives are available with either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 5-speed automated manual transmission (AMT), while the flagship Elite variant is offered exclusively with the latter cog-swapper. The manual version has a claimed fuel economy of 5.7 L/100 km, while the AMT’s listed figure is 5.9 L/100 km.

Revealed back in May 2023, the Exter employs the same platform as the Grand i10 hatchback and sedan twins, and is likewise produced at Hyundai’s plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai. The boxy little crossover measures 3 815 mm long (the same length as the Grand i10 hatch), with a wheelbase of 2 450 mm, a width of 1 710 mm, a height of 1 631 mm (including roof rails) and a ground clearance of 185 mm.

For the record, that makes it around 180 mm shorter from nose to tail than the likes of the Venue, Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger (and 166 mm stubbier than the CC21-generation Citroën C3, too), but about 115 mm longer than the diminutive Suzuki Ignis. The Exter’s luggage capacity comes in at a claimed 290 litres.

We first reported that the Exter was coming to South Africa back in May 2024, receiving confirmation from Hyundai Automotive SA after we discovered the company’s Seoul head office had applied to register the “Exter” badge in South Africa as early as October 2022. The local registration of this trademark took effect in December 2023.