Nepal - Hyundai to launch Xcent in mid-July for INR 18 lakhs

Hyundai will launch the Hyundai Xcent compact sedan in Nepal by mid-July this year, making the landlocked nation the Xcent's first export market.

Hyundai vehicles in Nepal are retailed by Laxmi Intercontinental, Hyundai's sole and official distributor in that region, who have helped the Korean brand take market leadership with a 42 percent share. The Xcent will be priced from about 2.9 million to 3 million Nepali Rupee (INR 18.12 lakhs to INR 18.75 lakhs). The Xcent for Nepal will be sourced from it only manufacturing location, India.

Hyundai will launch both petrol and diesel variants in Nepal. The petrol Xcent is powered by a 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine with Dual VTVT producing 83 PS at 6,000 rpm and 11.6 kgm of torque at 4,000 rpm. A 5-speed manual gearbox or 4-speed automatic is available on the Xcent petrol, while the ARAI rated fuel efficiency for the manual stands at 19.1 km/l. You can read our review of the Xcent petrol here.

The diesel Xcent is powered by a three-cylinder 1.1-liter engine which makes 72 PS at 4,000 rpm and 18.4 kgm of torque between 1,750-2,500 rpm. A 5-speed manual is the only gearbox option, while the ARAI rated efficiency claim is 24.4 km/l. Our review of the Xcent diesel can be found here.

The Xcent competes with the Maruti Dzire and Honda Amaze in India. While Maruti continues to lead this segment, Hyundai immediately outsold Honda with sales of Xcent accounting for 6,663 units while the Amaze sold 3,355 units (sales figures for April 2014).

[Source - Himalayan Times]