Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) launched its much awaited compact SUV Creta on 21 July 2015 with a pre-launch booking of 1,5000 units, adding another successful car to the South Korean manufacturers' Indian portfolio.

Creta took an early lead in the segment with first month sales crossing 6,700 units, which is higher than what Renault Duster and Ford EcoSport had recorded in their debut month. It has been reported that due to excessive demand, the waiting period has gone beyond six months in some cities.

The latest report from The Economic times indicates that the booking for Creta crossed 40,000 units at the end of August. "We are sold out till December and we have decided to increase the output in order reduce the waiting period for our customers," HMIL senior vice-president (sales and marketing) Rakesh Srivastava told PTI.

"When we launched the Creta, we were planning for about 6,000 units a month from July to December but considering the response, we have decided to increase by another 1,000 units from September by working together with our suppliers," he added.

Hyundai India has sold 6,783 units of Creta in July and 7,473 units in August. With the launch of Creta, Hyundai sales have increased significantly. The manufacturer posted its highest ever monthly sales in domestic market with 40,505 units in August 2015.

Priced between Rs 8.59 lakh and Rs 13.60 lakh, Creta is being offered in both petrol and diesel engine options. The 1.6-litre VTVT petrol engine churns out 121bhp and 151Nm of torque, while the 1.6-litre CRDi diesel engine develops 126bhp and 259Nm of torque.

The less powered 1.4-litre CRDi diesel unit churns out 89bhp and 220Nm of torque. The entire engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, while the 1.6-litre CRDi is also available with 6-speed automatic transmission.