Should There Be More D-Segment Sedans?

The mid-sized aka D-segment sedans aren’t that popular in Pakistan talking about those offered by the local players. Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, both of which are offered as CBU act more like showpieces on showroom floors due to their insane prices. The Camry is sold for PKR 186.3 lac (1 crore 86.3 lac) whereas the Accord is available for PKR 119.99 lac (1 crore 19.99 lac).

However the segment saw addition of Hyundai Sonata, which was the first locally assembled D-segment sedan in Pakistan. Not only that its local assembled, its also the latest 8th generation model that’s in line with the rest of the world. Sonata comes rich in features & equipment and is priced at PKR 64.99 lac for the 2.0L variant and PKR 72.99 lac for the 2.5L variant. This means the most expensive CKD assembled Sonata variant is 61% cheaper than the CBU imported Camry and 39% cheaper than the CBU Accord.

The result is quite impressive in terms of sales as during the first 6 months of the current fiscal year, Hyundai-Nishat has managed to sell 1,240 units of Sonata which is almost as good as their own less expensive yet obsolete C-segment Elantra which saw 1,508 units sold during the same period. Its a common perception that a car which falls in the price league of over Rs 6.5 million won’t sell that good but let’s put it this way, the sales of Isuzu D-Max which cost PKR 66.0 lac for 3.0L manual and PKR 69.6 lac for the 3.0L automatic were just 253 units during the entire year. The average monthly sales of D-Max turned out to be just 21 units compared to a rather impressive 103 units a month for Sonata.

This leads us to believe that in presence of crossover SUVs, the mid-sized sedans if rightly priced coupled with rich features & equipment can still sell well. And the impressive sales performance of Sonata might trigger other automakers to tap with their D-segment offerings in our market. Let’s have a look at the possible options that can compete against Hyundai Sonata in Pakistan