Going by the Indian market dynamics, Korean manufacturer Hyundai is planning to expand its product portfolio and improve market share by launching new products in the ‘Compact’ segment – a compact Sedan and Compact SUV.
The voids in these product segments have costed them dearly in the recent times but the company is all set to turn this around by bringing in new products.
We can expect these new products to be based on their fluidic design language which is followed by all the new products including the latest Grand i10 hatch. The First to come will be the compact sedan. Hyundai recently phased out Accent and the new compact sedan will fill the gap that has been thus created.
Grand i10 Based Sedan
Compact Sedans have surely worked wonders for Honda and Maruti and this is where the company has plans to make inroads into. The new sedan is expected to be priced around the 5-8 lakhs bracket to take on the present segment heavyweights – Honda Amaze and Maruti Suzuki Dzire.
The Amaze and Dzire were based on Brio and Swift; likewise Hyundai’s upcoming sedan will be based on the recently launched Grand i10 hatchback. We expect the styling of the sedan to be similar to Grand i10 up till the B pillar and rear end styling will be revised to include the third box. The interior styling and equipment levels are expected to be similar, however expect a few minor tweaks for product differentiation.
Grand i10 Sedan to Get 1.4L Diesel Engine
According to a statement by a Hyundai official, the compact sedan will be different and come with a more powerful diesel engine. Now, this takes us directly to the 1.4L diesel motor from the i20 considering that the 1.6L diesel motor will be an overkill as well as take the car over the lowest 12% excise duty mark. The other engine will definitely be the 1.2L Kappa2 motor from the current Grand i10. This is obviously under the assumption that the upcoming sedan will be sub 4 meters in length.
Some reports say that Hyundai is already testing few prototype sedans based on the Grand i10. With these developments we can expect the new oil burner to be released as early as the first half of 2014 and also feature in the Hyundai line-up of the next year Delhi Auto Expo. Our earlier report on the Compact sedan based on Grand i10 can be read here.
Compact SUV
The Second Product that will come out of the Korean Manufacturers plant will be the latest heartthrob of the Indian auto market – A Compact SUV. A flurry of reports have flooded the interweb recently regarding Hyundai’s plans on the new mini SUV that is expected to be released in 2015.
Many renderings have surfaced over the web apart from the regular spyshots of test mules that are under test. Reports of Hyundai Brazil and Hyundai India working on a C-SUV for developing markets have also been making rounds on the internet.
The confirmation of a C-SUV by Hyundai comes from a Hyundai official. In his statement to Economic times he said
“The mini-SUV segment has emerged as a powerful growth-driver in India. In the depressed market, it is the only segment that has shown growth. Unfortunately, we don’t have a competing product. That is being addressed. A compact SUV is taking shape at the Hyundai design studio.”
So we expect a Santa- Fe inspired C-SUV based on the Hyundai’s new design platform; around the bracket of Rs 8-12 lakhs. The C-SUV will see a late 2014 or an early 2015 release and on its arrival it will take on the Renault Duster, Ford EcoSport, Nissan Terrano and Maruti Suzuki’s production version of the concept XA Alpha.
– by Saravana Priyan
Source: Economic Times
