Hyundai Motors, the renowned automotive company in India has announced that the company is eyeing upon the slot that has been vacated by the iconic Maruti 800 in the past two years. This statement shows the interest of Hyundai to come up with small cars that will take the place of Maruti 800, which was a major hit at the time of its launch.
The Vice-President of Hyundai Motors India stated that “a new small car that will fill the slot between the Tata Nano and the Maruti Alto is set to be launched by the end of this year.” Mr. R Sethuraman further added that the company will continue to focus on producing small cars that would run on petrol and LPG, whereas the diesel versions would be available for the higher-end cars.
Hyundai Motors is set to make a frontal attack on Maruti Suzuki's domination on the small car segment with the EON. Officials at Hyundai announced that the EON will be filling the gap that has been created by the exit of the Maruti 800. Designed as a low cost car, Hyundai EON will be marketed as a better car than Maruti Suzuki Alto, but in the same price segment.
As per speculations, Hyundai EON will be priced over Rs.2 lacs, which will be a little higher than the Tata Nano. After structuring the price of this car, Hyundai officials are confident that Eon will effortlessly replace Maruti 800 in the Indian automobile market. Maruti 800 that was one of the most successful small cars by Maruti Suzuki has slowly been phased out from the Indian market due to the emission norms.
Maruti Suzuki's increasing share in rural markets is believed to be reason behind introduction of the EON by India's second largest carmaker, Hyundai. Ever since its inception, Hyundai has been an urban car brand. Even after repeated attempts, it failed to penetrate into the rural markets where Maruti Suzuki was dominant.
After the exit of Maruti 800 and a steady drop in sales of Hyundai, the company decided to take on the rural market by offering a low cost car. Built on a completely new platform, the EON has been given a fresh, contemporary and appealing looks. Powered by a 800 cc engine, Eon is believed to excel both in terms of performance as well as fuel economy.
With its hexagonal-corporate face and the slickly balanced bonnet character lines, the Hyundai EON is expected to be a stunner, in terms of exteriors. Moreover, with the best in class head, elbow and leg room, the EON is sure to impress the car buyers in terms of space, efficiency and comfort. The launch date of the Hyundai EON has not yet been disclosed by the company. According to the media reports, Hyundai is planning to launch the car in the festive season in October.
Reportedly, Maruti Suzuki is already working on the development for its new offering in the Alto league. However, Hyundai will have an early mover advantage in the entry level category once it unveils the EON, which is speculated to ignite more meaningful race in this segment.
