Hyundai think-tank is working belligerently in order to entice more customers, especially in rural and semi-rural regions by planning to launch vehicles in almost every segment. The South-Korean automaker, who is also the country’s second largest automaker, has decided to launch an entirely new model every year for the fulfillment of this objective. We have already witnessed the phenomenal response that Xcent compact sedan got upon its launch in March and it was the first product launch under this new strategy.
“The idea is to increase volume in the domestic market and increasing our market share is top priority. For that we will be looking to tap new customers segments in the rural market and through corporate sales,” HMIL Senior Vice President (Sales & Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava told PTI. The company is working on a compact SUV and MPV, which is likely to go on sale in the Indian car market in next couple of years. Hyundai will launch the ix25 compact SUV in China on October 9, which is also expected to come India in 2015. However, we believe that a compact SUV based on the Grand i10 hatchback platform will make more sense for the Indian market. The Grand i10 based MPV is also under development and it will compete against the likes of Maruti Ertiga, Honda Mobilio and Chevrolet Enjoy.
Rakesh Srivastava Senior Vice President (Sales & Marketing) HMIL also talked about the upcoming i20 facelift, called ‘Elite’ and said, “The Elite i20 is a very significant product for us. It is being launched globally for the first time in India.” The all new i20 Elite is built on a completely new platform and would replace the current model of i20. The company has also started taking pre-orders of the hatch and is all geared up for its India debut, which would also mark its global debut, on August 11, 2014. The premium hatchback was designed at Hyundai Motor’s Design Centre Europe in Russelsheim, Germany.
