Hyundai shall soon phase out its mid-size sedan Elantra and replace it by a new car in India called Hyundai Avante. The new avatar, Hyundai Avante was showcased earlier this year in Delhi Auto Expo 2008. The new car shall be launched in two variants as 2 litre petrol engine as well as 1.6 litre diesel engines. The car shall fall in the price band of Rs. 9 to 11 lakh and is expected in India by end of July 2008. It would be pitted against Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Chevrolet Optra, Skoda Octavia, etc.

Hyundai Elantra was launched in early 2003 and the company decided to phase out the car in mid-2007. It has stopped its production in April 2007. Avanta has already started replacing Elantra around the globe and now it shall do the same in India as well. Hyundai currently has only one car in the executive segment.

Hyundai is the second largest car manufacturer in India and has already made India as is export hub for small cars. Now Hyundai plans to capture a larger market share by introducing new models in the luxury car segment. It has also introduced Hyundai Tucson to India recently as its compact SUV in the luxury car segment.