BackHyundai plans mini car in India by 2011
Hyundai plans mini car in India by 2011
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Seoul: South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. is planning to produce a low-cost mini car in India by 2011 to compete with locally produced vehicles such as Tata’s new Nano, a company executive said on Wednesday, 30 January.
The low-cost, fuel-efficient mini car models will be priced between $3,700 and $5,300, Cho Won-suk, executive vice president of Hyundai Motor’s Advanced Technology Center, told Dow Jones Newswires at an industry event.
Mumbai-based Tata Motors Ltd. recently unveiled the Nano, billed as the world’s cheapest car, and said it will go on sale for US$2,500 by October.
Cho said no production of the mini-car is planned for South Korea.
Hyundai is the second-largest automaker in India, where small cars dominate the market. Maruti Suzuki Ltd., in which Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp. owns a majority stake, is the market leader with about 50% share. Homegrown Tata Motors is third-biggest.
Hyundai is pushing to diversify its product portfolio with fuel-efficient cars, and plans to introduce a version of its Avante sedan powered by liquefied petroleum gas by 2009, said Cho.
The company also aims to introduce a sport utility vehicle and midsize sedans power by fuel cells by 2012, he said. It is targeting the launch of a hybrid car by 2020, he said.
Hyundai, together with its affiliate Kia Motors Corp., is the world’s sixth-largest carmaker by sales.
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