India’s second largest car manufacturer Hyundai plans to launch compact SUV and a crossover vehicle in 2015. The crossover is expected to be based on the elite I20 or Verna. Hyundai compact SUV is code-named ‘GS’. The compact SUV is based on the ix25 concept and is being developed with an investment of INR 1000 crore.
Hyundai compact SUV code-named GS is expected to launch in the second half of 2015. It will be placed against Ford Ecosport and Renault Duster. Hyundai plans 90% localisation to keep the cost low.
The crossover based on either I20 or Verna is also expected to launch in the second half of 2015. The Hyundai crossover is being developed with an investment of INR 500 crore.
Hyundai has shifted gears to improve their presence in the SUV, MUV and crossover segment as the utility segment in India grew at 5.24% between April and November in 2014. Mahindra has already announced seven new utility vehicles for 2015, Renault will shortly face-lift the duster and launch the 7 seater Lodgy, Maruti is planning a crossover and SUV and VW is also considering SUV launch in 2015 . Hyundai has its presence in the premium SUV segment with the Santa-Fe, but the sales figures have been facing south, with only 175 units per month.
Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at Hyundai India didn’t provide details on the launch plans. “Hyundai is very strong in compact and sedan segment and has huge acceptance of its products. We will further extend it by our product line up by bringing in series of product in the SUV and MPV segment while continue improve on the compact and sedan category,” he said.
Hyundai India has started to increase production capacity in India by re-engineering production processes and has also shifted its base for some export models outside India to cater more to the domestic demand.
With multiple companies launching Utility Vehicles in India in 2015, the competition is expected to be high and most players will focus on design and pricing of their products. Hyundai plans to localize their product upto 90% to keep the prices low and gain the most market share.
COMMENTS
Nice!! It’s going to kill the competition.
Sure its gonna be tough,keeping in mind that there is already so much competition, price is gonna be a key factor.