Hyundai discards Aura, Novo, Euro tags; "Accent" on Santro for its small car
Rupali Mukherjee
NEW DELHI, December 4: Hyundai's small car for India has been christened the Santro. The car, which is a 999 cc petrol-driven vehicle, will hit the roads in October this year.The car, which was codenamed MXI, will be priced around Rs 3 lakh. Company sources say that the name has been derived from St Tropez (in France), associated with the French Riviera, to create an aura of European elegance, style and exclusivity. "The design lines of the car are European and to convey this the name Santro has been decided", they added. The name was decided after a poll carried out by advertisement agencies. A section of consumers favoured this name from amongst other options such as the Lectra, Aura, Euro and Nuvo. Industry sources said that the car has been built on the basic product concept of the 999 cc Atos, which is sold in Korea and other countries. The redesigned car for India is expected to have a convex curved rear hatch. The Santro will not only be a competitor to the Zen but may well chew into the
Maruti 800 share as the price differential between the two may be marginal. Priced around Rs 3 lakh, it may be almost at par with Daewoo's d'Arts and possibly Telco's small car. They are also scheduled to hit the roads in September. Telco's small car may have an added advantage in the form of the diesel engine it would offer. Around the same time, the Zen diesel will also be ready with the vastly superior Peugeot TUD5 engine currently fitted in the 309. The Santro will start off with a high level of local content. Hyundai Motor India has claimed that it will kick off with an indigenisation level of around 90 per cent. Hyundai is in the process of finalising its dealerships which would also serve as customer care centres. The company has planned over 60 dealerships in the country. The dealers will be set up in all major towns of North India, besides the metros. The company believes this is going to be one of its major unique selling propositions in selling the car. The Santro will be the first
car to roll out of the Hyundai stable, to be followed by the Accent. Hyundai's original plan was to bring out the Accent but seeing the crowded mid-size segment, it has decided against it and has instead chalked out a strategy to take on the Maruti head on.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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