Indian Autos Blog reader, Mr. Shree Ganesh, sent us these images of the 2015 Hyundai i20. The car was spotted in Chennai where the Korean carmaker has its manufacturing facility.
Introduced in late 2008, the i20 started getting Hyundai the sales volumes the Getz failed at. Sales of the i20 increased further once Hyundai announced a diesel engine option for the car.
Though the Maruti Swift outsells the i20 by more than two-fold, the Hyundai is known for its spacious interiors and huge list of features. Its these aspects which would be retained, if not bettered, on the next generation model.
Codenamed 'IB', we expect the new i20 to feature similar styling cues seen on the recently-launched Grand i10. We expect to see a familiar headlight design with a bumper featuring the hexagonal airdam and integrated registration plate enclosure.
Given that the current i20 measures 3,995 mm in length, the newer model would not grow by much given that Hyundai needs to keep the length below 4,000 mm in order to avail small car excise benefits for maintaining price competitiveness.
The next generation i20 will be revealed this year, possibly at the Paris Motor Show which takes place in the month of October. We expect to see the hatchback launch in India at about the same time, as we did with the new i10 last year. The September-November period is considered the 'festive season' in India, a time which gives breath every year to new car sales.
