Hyundai Motor Algeria opened the order book for a new variant of the India-made Hyundai Accent. The Accent GLS variant, which now adopts front airbags and ABS to meet the regulations on safety equipment on new vehicles in Algeria, implies that the Accent could live on until 2017.
The GLS variant also comes with Air conditioning, power windows front and rear, power steering, central locking, Radio-CD-MP3 audio system, and front fog lights. The variant is priced at 1,06,9000 DA (INR 7.97 lakh) for the non-metallic paint variant.
Industry experts at Auto Algerie tell IAB that Algeria can avail up to 24,000 units of the Accent per year from Hyundai's Chennai plant. The best-selling model was launched in the early-2000s and in 2013, 13,000 Algerians bought a new one. This despite the fact that it is the second oldest car in the Algerian market after the Renault Clio Campus.
The Accent competes with the Peugeot 301, Citroën C-Elysée, Renault Symbol and Dacia Logan. It has been restyled twice - in 2004 and 2010 - and is strapped with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder petrol engine matched to a five-speed manual gearbox.
In India, the Accent's shoes is filled by the Hyundai Xcent, a compact sedan based on the Grand i10 platform. Auto Algerie says the Accent has built up a solid reputation for being a reliable and low-maintenance car, giving Hyundai no reason to discontinue it.
[Source - AutoAlgerie.com]
