Reference Auto

The Korean giant, while giving a completely new look to its flagship car, has managed to price it a shade above the existing i10 that carried a price tag of between Rs 3.48 lakh and Rs 5.58 lakh.

The Next Gen i10 will come in two petrol engine variants of 1.1 litre and 1.2 litre. According to Hyundai, the 1.1 litre car has a mileage of 19.81 km per litre while the 1.2 litre engine variant will give a fuel economy of 20.36 km per litre.

The interior, which offers the same space as before, has been upgraded with new gadgets. The steering wheel has Bluetooth and music system controls and also an adjustable height.

The AC vents of the Next Gen i10 come with chrome finish. The most innovative addition happens to be the electronic heating of wing mirrors. A person driving the new i10 will not have to lower his window to clean the wing mirror during rain. The exterior has snazzy rear and front body coloured bumpers along with rubber door mouldings.

The company hopes to clock sales of about 5.9 lakh units in 2010 against 5.61 lakh units last year. It plans to whittle down exports. Since the launch of the car in India in 2007, Hyundai has notched up sales of nearly seven lakh i10s, which accounted for about 50 per cent of its export. The company is planning to stay focused on the domestic market and hopes to sell 3.4 lakh cars this year from 2.9 lakh last year.

HMIL managing director and CEO H W Park, who sounded bullish on the launch, said, “The Next Gen i10 reflects our mega plans for the Indian market. I am confident that the new i10 will strengthen our grip in its segment.”

HMIL director (marketing and sales) Arvind Saxena added, “We were selling about 13,000 cars per month of the old i10. We hope to scale it up to about 15,000 units a month with the new i10.” On the company’s plan to set up a diesel engine plant in the country, Saxena said, “The feasibility study is still on and may be completed by early next year.”

With Hyundai’s Next Gen i10 scoring a perfect 10 in looks and Hyundai Motor pricing it a tad above the existing model, the car’s sales is surely going to set the cash registers ringing for the Korean carmaker.