The Hyundai Creta has undergone many facelifts and updates, yet managed to maintain its position as the dearly beloved SUV of most Indian households—1.2 million of them, in fact. That staggering number aside, the Hyundai Creta also managed to hold onto the best-seller title for every completed year. The Creta was launched to a lot of admiration from both the press and the general populace alike on this very same day, July 21, in the year 2015, at an ex-showroom price of ₹ 8.59 lakh.
The Hyundai Creta’s next update came in 2018, where the starting price was ₹9.44 lakh ex-showroom—this was quickly followed by the first major update since launch in 2020, where the new Hyundai Creta had a markedly different front fascia with the angular LED DRLs. From this generation onwards, the Hyundai Creta became known for offering a ridiculous amount of kit for the price, which started from ₹9.99 lakh, ex-showroom.
The current version was launched just last year in January and despite being a facelift, looked almost nothing like the previous iteration, at least from the front. This large update in looks and features notwithstanding, the starting price went up by only ₹1 lakh, and the 2024 Creta started from ₹11.00 lakh ex-showroom.
The decade of dominance by the Hyundai Creta has left the market unrecognisable from 10 years ago. The mid-size SUV segment is now referred to as the ‘Creta Segment’ informally, whereas the annual sales of the SUV have nearly doubled—92,926 units in CY 2016 to 186,919 units in 2024. Despite being on the market for 10 years, the Hyundai Creta commands 31 percent of the market share, despite the existence of the Kia Seltos in the marketplace since 2019. As of now, the Hyundai Creta is offered in petrol, diesel and even electric powertrain options and is exported to over 13 countries from India, which at the time of writing stands at more than 2.87 lakh units.
Rarely, if ever, a manufacturer comes out with a car that is the right car for the right time in the right market, but the Hyundai Creta was that car for Hyundai India, a real watershed moment.
