Impala Vs. Aslan
The Chevrolet Impala full size sedan from General Motors is selling like hot cakes in the domestic market, while its competitor, Hyundai Motor's Aslan, is driven into a corner enough to make its bid for changing the model.
According to auto industry sources on Sept. 17, the supply of the Impala, which goes on sale in the domestic market from this month, cannot meet demand due to an aggressive price policy. The backlog of orders has surpassed 8,000 units.
Pre-orders for the Impala already reached 4,000 units before the official release, receiving an enthusiastic response. The company also received more than 900 orders on Aug. 31 alone, the day when the model went on sale. A week later, the number of orders far exceeded 1,400 units on Sept. 7, becoming a sensation.
GM Korea expected that its model would compete with Hyundai’s Grandeur and Aslan. The price tag for the Impala starts from 33.63 million won (US$28,805) to 41.36 million won (US$35,426). It is cheaper than the local market, though it is imported from the U.S. Compared to Hyundai’s Grandeur, the Impala is about 4 million won (US$3,426) more expensive, but the Impala provides more technical specifications, said GM Korea. The Impala is 4 million won (US$3,426) less expensive than Hyundai’s Aslan.
Due to the popularity of the Impala, the Aslan, which has continuously seen a decrease in sales, is under a bigger threat. According to data from Hyundai Motor, the cumulative sales of the Aslan, which went on sale in Nov. last year, stood at only 6,267 units as of Aug.
Hyundai Motor has announced that it will sell 22,000 units of the Aslan this year, writing a new history in the high-end car market with competition with German automakers. However, the company will not be able to achieve half of the target sales according to the current trend.