Hyundai Motor India Limited, the largest passenger car exporter of the country, is said to be planning to stem its roots in the entry level sedan segment. The company is looking ahead to introduce a new sedan, which will compete with already established cars like Honda Amaze and Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire. As told, the car will be under four meters in length and will have all the features and specifications that are provided by its rivals. Industry experts are of a view that the upcoming model may go on sale during next year.
Sources close to the company officials have told that Hyundai is planning to launch a new vehicle in the Indian market based on the platform of Grand i10, which is all set to be unveiled next month. Commenting on it, Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice President of Hyundai India was quoted as saying "The under-four-meter sedan segment is very attractive. It holds volumes and is growing at a fast pace. It does interest us to consider a product here."
It is not an unknown fact that the stalwarts of this segment Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire and Honda Amaze have been designed mainly on the platform of their compact versions, which were introduced earlier in the Indian car market. The highly successful Swift hatchback had paved way for Swift DZire while Honda Amaze has been based on the Brio platform. Now with Hyundai India planning to launch a similar sedan vehicle based on i10 Grand, it seems that the auto makers are nowadays banking on the success of design that is initially rendered on their compact vehicles.
The entry level segment poses a potential market for major companies, which can be assessed from the fact that Maruti Suzuki DZire had remained the best seller for the company over the recent times. According to sources, the Grand i10-based sedan will come in same fuel options that will be provided in the Grand i10. The petrol engine might get the same 1.2 Litre Kappa petrol engine while the diesel variant may get the new 1.1 VGT U2 diesel engine that will be mated to a 5-speed manual transmission.
It must be noted that Hyundai had entered the entry level segment long ago with its Accent model that got a positive response, though in the recent times the model has fared badly particularly because of its outdated styling, which the company has not changed over the years. Now with a plan to introduce a new model in the entry level sedan segment, it seems that things are again looking promising for the company in India.
