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 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 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 ]

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]

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]

Preferably don't buy these cars in 2008

If you have any plans to buy the Skoda fabia this year I suggest you wait for a year if resale value is important to you.VW [skoda's Parent company] say that they will lower costs of the Fabia by manufacturing the fabia at the chakan plan [while VW plan to delay their debut vehicle in India to 2010].Skoda have already done this with the Laura where later on they launched cheaper models which severely affected resale value of the cars which were already sold.I came across one such Laura owner who says he lost close to 6-7 Lakhs in resale value in just an 8 month old car.

However I must add that nothing wrong with Skoda cars,infact the Octavia[Laura as we know it here] has just been voted the best car in the UK for the second consecutive year.Octavia[Laura in India] drivers are the most satisfied lot in terms of reliability,build quality,running costs and ease of driving.Skoda beat rivals like Honda,Toyota,BMW,Mercedes for the second consecutive year.The Fabia too should be more or less on these lines and will definitely not disappoint you. If the car is going to be with you for a long time or you are not bothered about resale value please do go ahead with your purchase decision.

But the case with the cars I discuss next is a bit different.In these cars you will see a major revamp pretty soon.

1>.The first car in the list is the present Toyota corolla which is currently one generation behind its main rival the Honda civic.It is confirmed that you will get the next generation in India in 2008[maybe a diesel option as well].

2>.The next car in the list is the Honda city.You can see pretty much the push both the company as well as dealers are giving to increase sales since a major revamp of the Honda city is expected by the end of the year[2008].You will be left with a model which would be one generation behind in just a matter of few months.

Now I go back to the title I say preferably because you could also take advantage of this situation since all the above mentioned cars are great cars as well and dealers would be pushing for sales by adding incentives for you to buy these cars.But yes you must be ready to accept the fact that you will be driving an outdated model soon.

If you ask me what is the best alternative at this moment ,well I suggest the Hyundai Verna CRDi.It is a relatively safe bet and a good car with good mileage[FE.].In case of a petrol car I suggest the Maruti SX4.I don't expect any drastic change very soon to either of the two.The Toyota Corolla is not in the C segment and its alternative would be the Honda Civic which too should not see anything drastic soon.

Update 1:
In the don't buy list I am adding the Skoda octavia,for reasons please refer to this post,Next generation Skoda Octavia due in 2009 .Also the more modern VW jetta is expected soon.I would avoid the Laura too for the moment since a price correction could be possible but I am not 100% sure and hence am not placing it in the don't buy list.Alternatives I suggest the Optra Magnum.


Update 2:
NDTV confirms launch of the next generation honda city by the end of the year[2008].

Update 3:
The hyundai getz is a car in the don't buy list since the all new I20 is expected by the year end.Search the post for more details.Alternative ford fusion diesel.

Update 4:
With competition expected to catch up with Toyota in the form of the mahindra ingenio and the tata Xover expect something drastic from Toyota,from talks of launching a cheaper UV to even discontinuing the present innova doing the rounds I suggest you go slow and postpone your buy.No alternative buys suggested for the moment.

Update5:
Mahindra Renault Logan is a new addition to the list,a Facelifted model is expected soon.

Update6:
Maruti to replace the alto with the A-star.

The don't buy cars list for 2008:
1>.Honda City
2>.Toyota Corolla
3>.Hyundai Getz
4>.Skoda Octavia
5>.Skoda Fabia
6>.Toyota Innova
7>.Mahindra Renaul Logan
8>.Maruti Suzuki Alto


Also read:
Honda confirms all new Honda city launch by end of this year

Also read:
Team-bhpian Spots possible new Honda City.