Hyundai i20 launch on december 28th

Hyundai have decide to take the bull by its horns and inspite of the dull economy are going in for a car launch.However Hyundai arent taking the risk of discontinuing the getz for the i20 in the Indian market atleast.

Maruti too plan a new launch by early next year and it would be interesting to see how both of them are able to spark new interest in the automobile industry with the new launches.

Wile Hyundai plan to go only with a 1.4l petrol engine,maruti also plan a diesel engine for their hatchback which should give it an egde.Hyundai plan to launch the i20 at around the Rs.5.40 lakh price tag,now that is a pretty high price and looks a tad too overambitious.

Hyundai India supressing workers

Hyundai India may be doing well when it comes to cars but look who has to pay the price of it.

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, one of two umbrella labor groups in South Korea, accused Hyundai Motor Company of suppressing the activities of unionized workers at its subsidiary in India.

The KCTU also criticized the South Korean government for preventing two union officials at the India plant from traveling to South Korea, saying it is blocking the union’s activity to engage in international exchange.

Wonder why suck things slip from the Indian media.Anyways here's the article :
The Hankyoreh

Hyundai's small car to be out in 2012

Hyundai are targeting to sell a small car with a price tag of $3500[Rs.1,50,000 approx].This car should cause a lot of problems to maruti especially and if there is a diesel available too at similar pricing God help Maruti.Maruti however have some time at their disposal since this car is only expected by 2012.

Hyundai have done well to realise the importance of the Indian markets much before other rivals.They have also gambled by launching the i10 first in the market and ensuring it caters to local choice as well.The end result is if you keep track of monthly car sales figures as each month passes by the gap between hyundai and maruti suzuki keeps getting narrower and narrower.Unless maruti does something drastic I have no doubt that Hyundai could unseat Maruti from its number one position.

Toyota beats Honda in fuel efficieny

Honda cars are the most fuel efficient or are they?Guess who just bagged the award for having the most fuel efficient line-up in america.Its toyota and yes inspite of having gas guzzlers like the Tundra and other SUV's ,Toyota has still managed to better its japanese rival .

What this means is that the smaller cars from Toyota are much more fuel efficient than Honda's which has made up for the gas guzzlers.Ofcourse having the Prius in your line-up certainly helps.The official figures are that fuel efficiency for the entire Toyota lineup in USA is 29.69 mpg while that for rival Honda is 29.47 mpg.Hyundai is not too far behind with an mpg of 29.39 for its entire line-up.

What this means for you is that given the high prices for fuel you are best off in a Toyota if you are looking for something from the mainstream market or else for something exotic go for a Lotus[30.2mpg for its entire line-up]

[Source:Autoblog]

Hyundai launches the 1.2L i10

Once again India gets it first the rest of the world will follow as far as Hyundai is concerned.Hyundai have launched the made in India 1.2L kappa engine which produces power of approx. 80bhp@5200rpm and Torque of 114Nm@4000rpm.Fuel efficiency is expected to remain the same as in case of the previous 1.1L engine.This new engine conforms to euro 5 standards.

Hyundai have also added the option of a four speed automatic[you don't have to wait until december now].The 1.2L i10 is available in three variants and befittingly one of them is a sportz vehicle[Finally a vehicle in India with a sport tag gets an engine upgrade as well].

The new engine option is available on the i10 with a price range ranging from Rs.4 to Rs5.50 lakhs[approx] which mean it will directly compete with the Maruti swift.

This also means the new i20 will most probably priced higher and would take on the skoda fabia and the Honda jazz[when launched].

Hyundai to launch new i10 variant next week

Hyundai plan to launch a 1.2L petrol engine variant of the i10 next week[july,2008].

The new 1.2L engine codes named "Kappa" is about 15bhp more powerful than the existing engine so it should be somewhere around the 80bhp tag without compromising too much on the mileage side whereas performance certainly would get a boost.

The 1.2L engine would be available only in the higher variant/variants of the i-10 while the lower variants would continue to have the present 1.1L engine[petrol].The new engine would be priced at a premium compared to the existing higher variants of the i10 which are right now coming with the 1.1L petrol engine.

This new engine too would have a made in India tag.In my opinion though Hyundai have come out with this variant primarily for export markets.

The diesel and automatic transmission variants of the i10 are expected by the end of the year[December 2008] and so also would the bigger i20[expected by October 2008]

[source:Sify]

PS:Incase anybody was interested on an update on the santa fe it is expected by 2009 though prices could be very high as Hyundai plan to import it as a completely built unit[CBU]

Hyundai India sizzles once more

At a time when the entire automobile sector is facing a slowdown there seems to be an exception to the trend.For the past few months Hyundai India is achieving almost magical figures of growth and just before you jump to conclusions that it is only the i-10 then think again.Even in the A3 segment Hyundai is achieving phenomenal sales[and is not surprisingly the segment leader].

For the month of june,hyundai has achieved a phenomenal 34% increase in domestic sales[overall sales including exports is 45.3%].As in my earlier post once more I say Maruti faces a bigger problem from hyundai than from honda or toyota.

The c-segment sales are the ones which standout the most.Its two main rivals maruti and honda need to take a leaf out of hyundai's books and bring in diesel variants of their cars[sx4,honda city].

As far as the i-10 goes maruti surely missed a trick or two and right now all rivals look far too outdated in front of the futuristic i-10.God help them when the diesel variant is out by the end of the year.As far as the i-10 goes, hyundai very smartly went the honda way and went in for a luxurious interior[read beige with fake wood panels] with a futuristic exterior design a sureshot way of success in the Indian market[Ask honda how it managed to sell so many honda city's inspite of its price].Just don't know why it takes rivals so much time to realise this.

Just like Suzuki,Hyundai too may become more of an Indian company than a korean one.

Honda City resale prices fall drastically

Honda have time and again refused to accept that diesel is the way out in the Indian markets.For a long while they have managed to get away even.But now when times are getting tough even a company like Honda cannot get away any more.

Yes sales of new cars has been down for a while now.But now it is hurting where it hurts the most.For long honda has been proud about the resale value of its cars and even used it as a sales strategy for new cars.But now things have all changed Honda city resale value has fallen by 25-30% and that too just from the date when fuel prices where increased.Honda was always going to be the most affected simply because it had only petrol cars in its portfolio.What is interesting is that according to the report[BS] Honda civic too has been badly hit with everybody in a hurry to sell but relatively fewer buyers for the car in the seconds market.

Is Honda the only company affected no,General motors have been way too slow in adopting diesel into its line-up when it comes to the more mass market cars[leaving aside the tavera].

The ford fiesta too is suffering with the bad resale value and fords problems seem to continue with resale value of their cars.

The huge discounts on the Toyota Corolla and the lack of demand has affected its prices too in the seconds market.The mitsubishi lancer cedia is another car which is not doing well in the seconds market.

For a while it was the golden run of C and D segment cars in India but that run has abruptly come to an end.

According to the report there is an oversupply of the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Fiesta, Mitsubishi Lancer, Toyota Corolla ,Honda CRV, Ford Endeavour and the Hyundai Tuscon in the seconds market.

So what are Indian buyers buying now.Well we too have taken to the smaller is better strategy and if at all a bigger car is purchased it is a diesel.Maruti and hyundai are the more popular choices in the seconds market with WagonR, Zen, Alto, M800, Swift, Omni and Hyundai's Santro and Getz being the most sort after.

[source:Business Standard]

Hyundai launches CNG variant of Accent

Hyundai has just given a fresh lease of life to the older generation Accent sold in India[The verna is sold as the newer generation accent worldwide].

In order to offset the high cost of petrol hyundai have launched the cng variant of the Accent with a premium of Rs.56,500 compared to its petrol only sibling.This CNG kit would be factory fitted under a collaboration with a korean company CEV who would be supplying the kits to Hyundai motors.The car would ofcourse have the existing petrol tank as well and can run on either of the two fuels.

With rising fuel prices even Manufacturers like Mercedes have turned to relatively cheaper fuels like CNG then how can manufacturers like Hyundai not follow suit.

The possible suggestion to Hyundai could be the Accent could do with a diesel heart never mind if it is not the same specs as the verna and the getz,a less powerful engine would more than fit the bill and give good competition to the Maruti swift dzire.

[Source:The Hindu]

Hyundai Elantra the best in Consumer Reports 2008

One more reason why we should be angry with Hyundai India.They are keeping away from us the car which even beat rivals like Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla in the latest ranking by Consumer Reports,USA for the best car in the USA in its segment.

Hyundai have been gaining steadily on the Japanese rivals and there is not much to choose between the two now[an i10 owner could vouch for that].They have come a long way from being the also present to being the best now.The only difference between the Japanese and Hyundai seems to be the time taken,where Hyundai is making progress at a much rapid rate than what the japanese took to achieve its present number one position.Beware Honda,Toyota,Nissan Hyundai is not very far away and its not long before Hyundai could even beat them at their own game.

Also read:
Hyundai could just steal the thunder from Toyota

Another car of interest for us in India in the list is the Chevrolet Aveo sedan,which incidentally has been the worst vehicle and comes up last in its category.

[Source:Autoblog]

Hyundai to launch 1.2L petrol engined i10 soon

We are aware of a possible December launch of the diesel version of the i10 and perhaps even the automatic transmission but in a very suprising move, economictimes reports that Hyundai plan to launch a 1.2Lpetrol engine variant of the i10 as well within the next two months.

Even hyundai officials seem to have confirmed this move and the only bit they have not revealed is the pricing part but logically speaking expect it to be priced marginally higher than the existing 1.1L engine.The new 1.2L engine codes named "Kappa" is about 15bhp more powerful than the existing engine so it should be somewhere around the 80bhp tag without compromising too much on the mileage side whereas performance certainly would get a boost.

Now what has prompted this move is unknown perhaps the i20 launch has been delayed or the i20 is a bit more pricier than expected and there is a big gap in terms of pricing in the i20 and the i10 and hyundai don't have anything else in the portfolio take on the Maruti swift.With this boost in engine power perhaps hyundai is targeting the Maruti swift customer.

Hyundai are also planning to sell LPG variants across its entire line-up with the santro getting it by august 2008.The rest will get the LPG option a little later.

[Source:Economictimes ]

Hyundai's New i90 spotted

Hyundai have made it quite clear they want to enter the big league amongst the likes of Bmw,Mercedes while leaving the economy segment to Kia.A new car which is supposedly going to take on the germans[and the japanese too] has been spotted by autoexpress spies.

This car is supposedly stacked with luxury features which includes the Bmw like i-drive system and a collision mitigation brake system[CMS} which warns the driver in advance about an impending danger[accident].In terms of cabin space there is space enough for CEO's[i.e. the s-class and 7 series customers will feel at home].From a pricing point of view it is expected to be around £25,000.Autoexpress say the car would be powered by a petrol V8 engine producing about 350bhp.

Now this car is called the i90 by autoexpress however there has been no official word on that but it is clearly aimed at the executive segment.

This car is a segment above its latest luxury sedan the genesis and this is a brave move by Hyundai to think of a segment above even before the genesis luxury sedan has been well accepted.

As for an Indian Launch don't rule it out completely but yes don't expect it soon.

[source:Autoexpress uk]
[image source:lehmann]

Would you buy the Hyundai i800?

Toyota have been the pioneers of the luxury MPV concept in India and have been able to sell us what is essentially a luxury minivan something no manufacturer has been able to do successfully.Now that we are used to this concept would be accept something like the Hyundai i800 which is a true blue van.

The i800 is aimed at the premium segment and retails for about Rs.15lakhs in the UK but hyundai have talked about introducing a cheaper version and with a made in India tag we could have a vehicle which could be priced closer to the Toyota innova.

It comes with a 2.5L crdi engine with FE similar to the innova but as it stands the power is way ahead of the innova offering 170bhp and 392Nm of torque.There is more than adequate space for eight and luggage.
Exterior dimensions are more bus like and don't expect to zip through traffic.Also no matter how hard Hyundai have tried people just are not ready to accept hyundai as a premium brand so anything priced above the Toyota innova would be hard to sell.The biggest drawback however could be its looks ,we like our utility vehicles to be as van like as possible in everything except looks.

[image source:motoring.co.za]

Maruti Suzuki's biggest nightmare:Hyundai Motors

People are talking about Tata Motors and especially the Nano as Maruti Suzuki's biggest headache but if you look closely an even bigger threat exists in the form of Hyundai motors.

The santro had and is doing very well in India but what has leapfroged Hyundai into centrestage is no doubt the i10.With the i10 Hyundai are able to winover a major chunk of small car buyers.Infact right now if I had to shop for a small car I would pick nothing but the i10.The fact that the i10 would be getting a diesel by the year end[2008] would mean alarm bells ringing not only in the Maruti camp but Tata too for its indica could not have faced a bigger threat.Maruti on the other hand do not have a diesel in the B segment and the other fuel options[CNG,LPG] are not necessarily as widespread as diesel.

Hyundai do not have such a blockbuster product in the B+ segment but all that could change with the launch of the i20 again expected towards the end of the year[2008].In the C segment Hyundai has not suffered as badly as say a ford.Then there is the D segment,here too the new elantra with the diesel engine is expected to bring in numbers/

But the biggest threat would be the new small car which hyundai are targeting to be sold with a price tag of $3500[Rs.1,50,000 approx].This car should cause a lot of problems to maruti especially and if there is a diesel available too at similar pricing God help Maruti.Maruti however have some time at their disposal since this car is only expected by 2012.

Hyundai have done well to realise the importance of the Indian markets much before other rivals.They have also gambled by launching the i10 first in the market and ensuring it caters to local choice as well.The end result is if you keep track of monthly car sales figures as each month passes by the gap between hyundai and maruti suzuki keeps getting narrower and narrower.Unless maruti does something drastic I have no doubt that Hyundai could unseat Maruti from its number one position.

[image source:jalponik]

Nissan to target mass market segment in India

Fortunately one of the big three Japanese manufacturers thinks differently,with most manufacturers wanting to target the premium segment,Nissan however have a different strategy and want to target the mainstream market.

Their small car scheduled for production by 2010 is going to take on Hyundai and Maruti on the pricing front as well.Nissan would be pricing the car between Rs.3-4 lakhs.This car is said to be based on the Micra platform.

Nissan also plan to export Maruti Suzuki's a-star for exports.By 2012 we would see around 8 vehicles in the Nissan range which would include commercial vehicles as well.Expect a c-segment sedan as well.

Nissan also plan to launch the Murano crossover in India by early 2009.Expected price range Rs. 30-40 lakhs.

Nissan have been the slowest off the blocks and have some catching up to do in the Indian market.

[source:TimesofIndia]

Coming soon next generation Nissan X-trail

Just spotted a dozen odd next generation x-trail's from Nissan indicating a possible launch soon in the Indian markets.The battle in this premium softroader segment is just heating up with Honda Crv[diesel coming soon],Chevrolet Captiva,Mitsubishi Outlander[expected soon] and the Hyundai Santa Fe[also expected soon],Maruti grand vitara[Maruti desperately needs a diesel grand vitara if it does not want the vitara to only remain in the showrooms] .


The new xtrail is slightly longer than the older version and is based on the renault/nissan C platform.

Nissan would do well to launch a sensibly priced car since right now its more of a Hotel Leela car in India and if the present pricing structure continues given the fact that the nissan network in India is almost non-existant it would be hard to imagine a customer walking into a nissan showroom given the number of choices.

It would be real interesting to see who emerges the winner since all except Maruti would be offering a diesel and are almost equally matched in specs and luxury.If you ask me,I feel the Honda badge may just have that extra edge especially after the addition of the diesel in its line-up

If anything one gets a feeling toyota seems to have missed out in this segment and they have more than a few vehicles which could batlle it out in this segment.

Hyundai could just steal the thunder from Toyota

We all know the new Toyota Corolla is due pretty soon.Just putting out a few pluses and negatives of the next generation corolla.

There is plenty of storage space and cubby holes if that's what you are looking for in a D-segment sedan.This corolla is loaded with toys like cruise control,rain sensing wipers etc[Check this post for more details:Hottest corolla].We have a very roomy interior and a very refined engined but the list of negatives may just outweigh the positives.For starters Toyota plan to stick with their old engine line-up[slightly tuned up],OK this may not be such a big complaint but we certainly expected the global leader to show the way forward.Then there is the quality issue,as far as the interiors are concerned the civic feels more upmarket than the latest generation corolla.Even the instrument cluster is down to earth compared to the fighter jet like of the civics.

Now for even more bad news.The next generation corolla is going to be significantly more pricier than the existing corolla and we don't know if it will come with that diesel engine[I say that because the chances of a diesel seem pretty remote].To cut it short if you were to tell me to put my money on one of the two[corolla or civic],I'd stick with the civic as being the overall winner in this segment.The corolla will sell but looks unlikely to upset the Civic's leadership status unless Toyota change their strategy.


Now for the Hyundai part.Hyundai have so far not been able to sell high end cars in India.But the new elantra/avante could just change all that for Hyundai.There is a huge opportunity in the D-segment for a reasonably priced diesel sedan.Hyundai will definitely launch a diesel and if reasonably priced[make that priced much lower than the corolla] hyundai could just steal the thunder from Toyota.As for the Chevrolet optra diesel,If I were the GM boss I would soon start a marketing campaign emphasizing the diesel for it too has an opportunity to winover customers from the japanese camp.Make no mistake diesel is going to be king for a pretty long time to come in markets like ours.

[image source:autoblog]

Hyundai i10 diesel by year end

This year end is going to see a slew of launches as far as the automotive industry is concerned.Will put up a detailed post in this regard later.But yes if you are buying a car and in no hurry waiting till the end of the year is the best bet.

Hyundai would be launching their diesel version of the i10 by the end of the year[last quarter of this year].If the success of the petrol car is any indication then the i10 diesel is all set to be a runaway success for Hyundai.Hyundai would also launch the automatic variant of the i10 at that time.Hopefully it is a CVT.Detailed specs would be put up later.

There is also the i20[october 2008] and the santa fe[end of the2008] which are set to debut in the Indian markets.

A car even cheaper than the santro is in the pipeline too.But don't expect it that soon.

For the immediate future expect few new variants[LPG,CNG] for the accent.This is expected by June 2008.

[Source:Economictimes]

Hyundai looking at launching all new Getz-The i20

Cartrade india reports that Hyundai want to replicate the success of the i10 in the b+ segment now.Though they are not very clear about the new car it is supposedly more spacious than the existing getz and interiors would be more in line with the i10.

The Hyundai Getz is due for replacement and most probably this car would be the new platform called the i20.In its present avatar the Getz has not impressed car buyers and the result is sales are below average compared to its competitor the Maruti Swift.


The car is expected to have a 1.2L petrol as well as 1.4L petrol engine options.There will alo be a diesel engine option,the 1.5L crdi one.

The i20 will debut at the Paris motor show in September 2008 and can be expected by the year end or in early 2009.

Here are some spy pics of the i20 caught testing around the world:




The present getz itself is super spacious and I wonder what this replacement car would be like.Indians have appreciated world class products as proven by the success of the i10 and this new car too should do wonders for Hyundai.Once again highlights the importance Hyundai is giving to the Indian markets by giving us new cars as soon as they are launched elsewhere if not before.

Ps:Cartrade India call the new car the Hyundai TB.Where TB stands for Think Basic.Hyundai better look at a better name than that.i20 is the better bet.

Update:The probable launch date of the i20 is october 2008.

[source:Cartradeindia]
[Image source:worldcarfans,hyundaiblog,kiaworld]

Car prices in India set to rise by as much as 5%

If are looking at buying a new car now may perhaps be the best time.Cars makers are all set to increase prices by as much as 5% due to rising costs and this cut is not limited to any particular manufacturer but all are likely to follow suit.

If you like the Maruti Dzire hurry up and buy the car.Maruti have made it very clear that the present prices are only introductory and may see a rise soon.GM,Toyota have hinted of a price rise in the near future,so if you want have any plans of buying your dream car hurry.

Business standard has done a calculation and here is what it could mean to you:

A 5% increase would mean* (in Rs)

Maruti Suzuki ->10,000-75,250
Hyundai ->14,100-82,400
Tata Motors ->16,850-58,300
Skoda ->35,000-90,000
Ford ->25,300-31,100
General Motors ->15,800-93,100
Fiat ->17,500-22,000
Honda ->35,800-98,000
Toyota ->36,000-1,10,000

* Prices are based on calculation of a rise of 5 per cent on models ranging from the lowest priced to the premium priced. Prices that were taken for this were all ex-showroom, Mumbai


[Source:Business Standard]