Hyundai Santa Fe launch during October, new Elantra coming soon

Hyundai Motors India Limited (HMIL) has confirmed that the Santa Fe SUV would be launched in October 2010 and the new Elantra is being developed and could soon be launched.

Y K Koo, Senior Director, HMIL -

Santa Fe may be launched in the month of October and its price can be in the range of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 22 lakh which will be very competitive. The market for premium segment in which Elantra fits in is just 3 per cent of total market size of cars in the country. But this market is growing.

Hyundai has chosen to bring the Santa Fe SUV at a very crucial time as the premium SUV market is growing rapidly and the only a few strong contenders to compete with are the Ford Endeavour and Chevrolet Captiva wth their diesel engines while Toyota has temporarily stopped bookings for the Fortuner and Honda CR-V's exorbitant price is shooing customers away.

Hyundai's new SUV could bring in a lot of new buyers as the Santa Fe has got the right looks and presence and moreover the Hyundai Santa Fe would be a refreshing new option for buyers in this segment.

Hyundai plans to relaunch the Elantra in India with the latest generation 2011 version. The new 2011 Hyundai Elantra sports Hyundai's 'Fluidic Sculpture' design language and comes with a 1.6 liter direct injection gasoline engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. This engine produces 138 bhp and 167 Nm of torque.

The Elantra for India could also come with a diesel option to take on the Toyota Corolla Altis Diesel to be launched later next month. The Hyundai Elantra when it comes could be the most futuristic looking car in the segment. We expect Hyundai to bring the new Hyundai Elantra by mid-2011, probably after the new Hyundai Sonata's launch.

Source: BS