IndianAutosBlog.com reader Tarun Samuel emailed this snap of the Hyundai HA test mule caught near the Hyundai factory in Sriperumbudur near Chennai. Instantly noticeable from the image is the Santro outside mirror.
The body panels and fitments appear to have been redesigned completely. The Hyundai HA will not be a stranger in its own home. Despite its rock-bottom price, she follows the Fluidic Sculpture design ideology.
We’ve shown you another test mule from near Pune where the mule sported hub caps. Hyundai HA is a junior i10 with a whiff of Santro in it ready to pounce on the Maruti Alto this Diwali.
We’ve already brought you some of the features expected on the Hyundai HA in a previous post -
For a car that sells every 2 minutes, the Maruti Suzuki Alto really needs to introduction. For more than a decade, this little warrior has fought every competitor to retain the crown. Some competitors were fierce such as the Tata Nano, some were rather meek like the Chevy Spark and others never went into production.
But the best selling car in India refused to budge from its No. 1 position.
Now the Alto faces a new competitor – Hyundai HA. The Koreans have decided to challenge the Japanese at their own game. Back in 2008, Hyundai started working on the prototype of the HA. Our readers Sarun Selvanesan and Rohan Patil have caught the HA on different occasions during testing this year.
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This article is purely speculative. The HA could end up on the market during this festive season and these details will be clearer as we draw closer to D-Day.
It is no secret that Hyundai is aspiring to eat into Maruti’s market share one step at a time. They have three sub-4 meter long hatchbacks and the fourth is completing the final leg of development as we write this. IndianAutosBlog.com has brought you a close-up spy shot of the HA’s rear and today we’re presenting some more details of the Alto challenger.
This is an IndianAutosBlog.com exclusive -
1) The top-end HA will come with beige interiors, air conditioning (4 speed) and power steering including a two tone dashboard.
2) The material quality, fit and finish will be in the i10 territory. Hyundai HA could have class leading interiors. It has not opted for the centrally mounted instrument cluster.
3) The dash has a tray mounted above the glovebox, like the Figo, to store nick-nacks.
4) The top-end model, like the i20, will have CD/MP3/USB playing capability. The buttons will be arranged in a V shape and finished in grayish silver. This is a segment first.
5) The air conditioning control knobs will be a dial type (read like i20). Hyundai has not opted for the twist type found on the Santro.
6) Unlike the i10, the HA will have height adjustable head rests for front seats and integrated head rests on the rear.
7) Coming to the instrument cluster, it will be a three-dial layout with the speedo in the center, engine temperature on the left and fuel quantity on the right. Apart from the speedo, both dials (or read outs) will be digital.
Unlike the Tata Nano, HA will have two windshield wipers at the front.
9) Like the i20, HA could have an EPS for better fuel efficiency.
10) It will sport the i10′s steering wheel which is carried over to lower i20 variants.
11) Like the Ford Figo, the front windows will be electrically powered. The rear windows will have to be manually operated on all variants.
12) The angle of the rear windshield will generate a wee bit of extra boot volume.
13) The junior i10 could debut by the end of October.
The HA has all ingredients to be a killer product and is better than Santro in every department. Surely this massive effort to dethrone the Alto one unit at a time is exciting news for the Hyundai fans.
What are your thoughts on the Hyundai HA?
Pune based IAB lover Rohan Patil spotted Hyundai’s Alto challenger (codename – Hyundai HA) on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway. This is the note Rohan left us this morning -
I saw two mules zooming past me near Wagholi, I increased my speed and caught them at Ramwadi Octroi Checkpost where they stopped. They had TN registered red number plates.
For the benefit of new readers we’re summing up the Hyundai HA -
1) Hyundai’s entry-level hatch will be based on a part-Santro platform
2) A 3cyl 800cc engine producing about 50bhp will drive the front wheels
3) HA is smaller than Santro and will coexist with it
4) Possibility of a diesel engine is slim but a LPG variant, going by the company’s history, is expected
5) Engineers in Hyderabad coordinated with their counterparts in Korea to develop this 2.5 lakh rupee hatch
6) As the low cost car provides the bare minimum, it may not be exported to the same countries the i10 is sent to. It can be retailed in markets having similar characteristics and safety standards as India.
7) Can Hyundai shatter the 25kmpl mark with the tiny 3 cylinder motor?
Sales will shoot up during the festive season which is when one car expect the HA. If not, Auto Expo 2012 is the perfect opportunity.
9) Will they call it i5? Will they call it Matrix? Or will they leverage on the established Santro nameplate by adding a suffix to it? Branding of this city commute remains a mystery.
10) Hyundai is building its presence in rural areas where it feels the HA has more chances of finding buyers.
What do you think about the HA’s chances in India?
Financial Chronicle reports that Hyundai will consider rural markets seriously to drive up sales of the HA hatchback preparing for a festive season debut. Hyundai will place this product under the i10, perhaps starting prices under Santro levels. Having said that, there is no retirement plans for the Santro in place. As sales are strong, the Santro should continue for another few years.
With fluidic design touches, an aerodynamic design and benefiting from advancements made in departments of powertrain research and material sciences, Hyundai will aim to eat into the envious volumes of the Maruti Suzuki Alto with an aggressively priced product that returns near about 25kmpl. Maruti manages to shift close to 30k Altos every month and sales have shown increased pace since the launch of the high-powered K-10 variant.
The HA has been in our spotlight for the past two years. We’ve posted spyshots of 800cc HA along with SRK’s rendering (shown here) based on the design language seen on Hyundai’s like the i10 and i20. The latter is also expected to receive a cosmetic makeover in the near future.
Hyundai’s definition of rural market is a market that lies outside the top 40 cities in India. There are 700 sales outlets in rural India which Hyundai plans increase to 1,000 in the next 8 weeks. The rural showrooms are very basic measuring 900 sq ft in display area with a 2,000 sq ft service workshop area. Hyundai is also working on the next generation i10 expected in 2013 with a diesel engine.
Hyundai is busy at work on the HA small car expected towards the end of 2011. There is heavy demand for cars costing between 2.5-3.5 lakh rupees and the 800cc hatchback will honor that need. Dressed in heavy camouflage one is still able to understand where the design inspiration trickles in from. We can expect the HA to look like a cross between the i10 and the Santro. Fluidic sculpture design interpretation will be seen, but not heavily.
We predict that alternate fuels will catch Hyundai’s fancy as a diesel engine to power a car of this size is not available right now. LPG is a good idea due to its availability and popularity while CNG fuels will work well in select parts of the country.
Korean engineers worked closely with their Indian counterparts in Hyderabad for the last four years to develop the mini car. Production of the sub-i10 car could begin by the end of October at the Chennai plant (where the i10 is manufactured for the entire world) and prices may start as low as two lakh rupees for the basic model that lacks power steering, power windows and power locks. For the international markets, Hyundai can look at the 1-liter Kappa engine introduced recently on the European i10.
click through for more text and a rendering
Hyundai’s Nano Killer – HA (its internal codename) is something of a very keen interest for IAB. The simple reason being it will be the first car to challenge the Nano on its home turf. We have brought you the spyshots of this car before but those were taken in the dark and one couldn’t see much. Don’t be disappointed, here we have some fresh spyshots taken in bright sunlight. [ Read More ]
Hyundai’s 800cc car (H800/HA for simplification) could take another 1.5 years before it hits the Indian market, a Hyundai official who wished not to be named, revealed today to Economic Times.
Hyundai’s unnamed official -
Considering the fact that the car has been designed and developed keeping in mind the Indian market, the next Auto Expo in 2012 will be the ideal platform to unveil the car.
Hyundai, according to our sources, has started testing prototypes of this mini car on the roads of Chennai. The vehicles are heavily camouflaged. Despite all the hiding, it can’t but flaunt its close resemblance to the Hyundai i10, which is the smallest hatchback in the Hyundai range in India.
We expect Hyundai to manufacture well over 50,000 cars a month in its Chennai plant in the first year. Demand for a 2.5 lakh rupee car is definitely going to be more than 50k cars a year.
Hyundai could also consider throwing in a LPG tank into this model right from the beginning. It took them some time to transplant LPG tanks into the affordable Santro and Accent. A diesel engine is also a good option but could such a small car take the pounding of a diesel engine? More importantly, will the passengers sitting inside its tiny body shell feel very comfortable? How much refinement can you expect in a low-cost diesel engine?
The diesel engine will bump up its price taking it closer to the i10′s territory. Cannibalization and confusion is the last thing Hyundai wants in the small car market that is more a fruit salad than anything else.
The 2012 Auto Expo attracts a lot of people, but that can also work against Hyundai. You don’t want to launch a vehicle at that event thinking it’ll attract the interest of a million people only to realize on the show days that a Tata, Mahindra, Chevrolet or Suzuki to snatch the thunder. Too many things happen at the Auto Expo and unless you have a groundbreaking car like a Nano, you can’t be sure about anything.
