Hyundai to launch 800 cc car both for India and export markets

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HTML) is planning to launch its 800 cc small car by 2011-12. The wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motors Company is taking this step foreseeing the demand for small cars which is likely to touch 2 million units in India by the time this car gets to launch here. The Hyundai 800 cc cars will be both for Indian market and exports markets.


But the company made a clear remark that it had no intentions to give a competition to Nano as it does not have the capacity to manufacture Rs. 1 lakh car.


Hyundai is planning to undertake the production of this new 800 cc variant on the tunes of Maruti 800 and is supposed to hit the market with an affordable range. Hyundai is the largest seller of the small car


segment. Its current best seller is i10 but Hyundai plans to offer a car at a price tag lower than i10 this time.


“We hope to bring our smaller car than Santro, which will be an 800 cc vehicle, by 2011,” said H S Lheem, Managing Director Hyundai Motors India. He, however, did not divulge details like price range of the car. The car is aimed to hit not only the Indian domestic market but the company also plans to cater to the export market as well. The design of the car will be prepared in Korea.


The research and development work has already started at R&D centers at Hyderabad and Namyam (Korea). The company however has not revealed much about the product specification but there are anticipations that this car would be a petrol variant with 800 cc engine. These units have the capacity to manufacture 20,000 units per month and 600,000 units per year. HMIL has also promised a preview of its i20 car in the hatch back segment with a code name PB at the Paris Auto Tariff Show on October 2.


Hyundai is probably impressed by what Maruti 800 did to the Indian small car segment. Maruti Udyog happens to be the only company that boasts of having a monopoly in the small car segment in India. Hyundai’s new 800 cc car is bound to face tough competition from Maruti’s Alto, Maruti 800 and Spark. The company aims to take forward this sensation by launching yet another affordable small car, looking at the growing market of small cars in India.