Hyundai’s new compact SUV and Elite i20 based crossover will be launched in the second and first half of 2015 respectively and will be heavily localised to keep prices competitive.
Hyundai India has aggressive plans for 2015 as the company will be launching not one but 3 all new products aimed at the compact SUV and crossover segments. While the ix25 SUV and the Elite i20 based crossover have been confirmed for launch next year, reports now come in that Hyundai is also working on a new compact SUV that has been codenamed ‘GS’. Scheduled for launch in the second half of 2015, the new vehicle is being developed with an investment of Rs. 1000 crores and is based on the ix25 platform.
Hyundai stated that the upcoming GS compact SUV will be built with 90 percent local content, like most of its existing and upcoming products that will help keep the prices extremely competitive. While the ix25 SUV exceeds the 4-metre length, the GS compact SUV could be tucked under the sub 4-metre mark and will be locking horns with the Ford EcoSport in particular. With an extremely competitive pricing, the South Korean automaker is looking to penetrate further in the utility space, where it has limited presence.
In addition, Hyundai is also working on developing the Elite i20 based crossover with an investment of Rs. 500 crores. Also scheduled for launch in 2015, the new crossover will be sharing a whole lot of components with the i20 hatchback including aesthetics and powertrain, but will get more equipment on offer including projector lamps, LED DRLs as well as more tech inside the cabin. The automaker has also been aggressively testing the i20 Cross (likely to be called) and was recently spotted camouflaged during one of its runs in Chennai.
Apart from crossovers and SUVs, Hyundai has an all-new MPV planned for launch in 2016 that will be competing against the Toyota Innova, Honda Mobilio, Maruti Ertiga and the likes. The next year will also see the company update its product range with the Verna facelift, next generation Sonata and Elantra facelift scheduled for launch. The company currently retails only the Santa Fe (in the SUV segment) in India and the upcoming range of models will help the automaker expand its market share further in the country from the current 22 percent.
Source – Economic Times, Pictures Source – Anything On Wheels
