Hyundai is studying the possibility of re-introducing the Sonata brand in India.
When Hyundai first started selling cars in the Indian market, the company had the Santro, Accent and also the Sonata in the line-up. The Sonata, positioned as a premium sedan, may not have done very well but it did a very good job for Hyundai in terms of brand building.
While the old Sonata had some styling inspiration from Mercedes and Jaguar, it turned out to be a bait to draw eyeballs towards the car. Hyundai then launched two more generations of the Sonata in India before finally discontinuing it few years back due to the falling demand of D-segment sedans as people started preferring SUVs.
Now, it has been learnt that Hyundai is studying the feasibility of re-introducing the Sonata in the Indian market. Hyundai is going to study the local market thoroughly before taking a concrete decision on this. If they do launch the Sonata here, it’ll happen in 2021 and not in 2020.
The eighth generation Hyundai Sonata was revealed at the 2019 New York Auto Show and the same model is expected to arrive in India, albeit with some tweaks. The sedan looks sportier than before and has a coupe-like body line. It follows the Sensuous Sportiness design philosophy.
Globally, the vehicle is offered with a 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo petrol engine or a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated petrol engine. It gets a ton of equipment like LED lights, 8-inch LCD monitor, Electric Parking Brake, heated seats, heated ORVMs, 8-way powered seats, dual-zone climate control, Smart Trunk Release, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Lane Follow Assist, Driver Attention Warning, automatic high-beam assist, and Smart Cruise Control with Stop & Go.
If and when launched in India, the Hyundai Sonata will compete with other D+ segment sedans like the Skoda Superb, Volkswagen Passat, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
Hyundai Sonata India Re-Launch
– Eighth generation Sonata was unveiled in November 2020
– Gets two engine options globally
– India launch won’t happen before 2021
Source – CarWale.com
