Hyundai HexaSpace project paused, focus on Hyundai Carlino

Slowdown in the MPV market gets Hyundai to reassign priorities.

Autocar India reports that the Hyundai Motor India Limited has paused its MPV project to focus on the Hyundai Carlino sub-4m SUV's development.

The reason could be attributed to the slow demand of compact MPVs in the market, while compact SUVs are kinder on new players. This is evidenced by the weak response for the Mobilio, Lodgy and Evalia, while the Ertiga has been witnessing fluctuating demand.

With the market interest shifted towards compact SUVs, fueled by products like the Mahindra TUV300, Maruti Vitara Brezza and the Ford EcoSport, and the fact that Hyundai unveiled a sub-4m SUV concept at the Auto Expo 2016 rather than the production-spec Hyundai Hexa Space MPV concept from the Auto Expo 2012 makes this reported decision unsurprising.

Also Read: Hyundai Creta exports to be expanded to 92 markets

Hyundai Motor India Managing Director Young Key Koo has confirmed that the Hyundai Carlino will launch in India by the end of the decade. Most of the SUV’s core development will be handled by HMIL’s engineers, so as to develop the model with special focus on Indian customers.

[Source: Autocar India]