Hyundai’s top-level management told Indian Autos Blog during the launch of the Santa Fe that there was no question of diesel engine on the current i10 as the petrol model’s mileage was handsome. They vitally added the next generation i10 will have one on-board and it will take them about two years to develop a diesel model.
We assume that by 2013, the diesel i10 will be on sale in India. But the big question is – which model will they put it in? Is there something like the next generation i10 under works now?
We believe the next generation Picanto, seen testing overseas, is what will be the diesel i10 everyone wants to buy. The operation isn’t going to breach any company rules or practices. At the Paris Motor Show last month, Hyundai unveiled the ix20 which was a Kia Venga wearing the Hyundai logo.
What we’re saying is not official, mind you. We checked the Picanto’s history and learned it was a Hyundai too. Well, sort of. The currently selling Picanto shares its underpinnings with the Hyundai Getz and it is equipped with a 1.1-liter 3-cylinder CRDI engine that produces 75PS of power.
Our friends in Brazil (an important market for the car) tell us there is fair chance for the Picanto’s unveiling next year in Seoul and a Brazil launch a few months following that.
So is the case of the next generation i10 cracked? We think so.
The i10 has been a superhit for Hyundai in India. A diesel variant of the car would have just been an icing on the cake for Hyundai. A 1.1-litre CRDI unit was expected to be launched in the i10.
But now Autocar India reports that Hyundai has shelved plans to launch the diesel i10 as it was turning out to be too expensive as the engine is not locally manufactured. Hyundai would have to price the car in the range of 6 lakh rupees which would not have made any sense as the diesel i20 starts in that range & it is doing pretty well.
Is it likely that the next generation i10 that would come out in 2013 having a diesel engine that will be locally manufactured in India to keep costs down?
The Hyundai i20 was launched with a diesel engine a few weeks back. Customers felt it was priced beyond their expectation and Hyundai was quick to defend themselves citing export content as a reason for higher cost.
Hyundai, as we said before, is planning to launch the i10 with a CRDI 1.1-liter engine. The company is planning to setup a facility for producing engines locally that will bring down the cost of the i10 and the i20 CRDI by up to 15%. At present the CRDI engine is exported and the 1.1-liter engine could also be transplanted to the entry level Santro in the future.
News about the Hyundai i10 diesel is sparse, the last time we heard about such a thing was a few months back. Reports claimed the diesel car would come in two variants – one with a 1.4-liter diesel and another with a minuscule 1.1-liter CRDI engine.
Now a Iranian publication, Iran Daily, reports a 1.2-liter diesel i10 is ready to be unleashed.
Plonking a diesel engine in a i10 would make it at least 25% more costly than the petrol model. The line-up then would need re-working as large scale cannibalization would happen, the i20, Getz and the i10 Kappa could find themselves in a spot of bother.
The best way out of this situation is for Hyundai to wait for the diesel Chevrolet Spark, and our source in Japan tells us Suzuki’s A-Star is getting ready for a diesel engine next year. Hyundai could use the plot of these manufacturers to carefully device the i10 diesel’s price strategy.
The Hyundai i20 is manufactured exclusively in India, in both diesel and petrol avatars, but India is starved of the diesel model. Numerically successful, Hyundai plans to reinforce it’s attack on the Skoda Fabia and the upcoming Honda Jazz by soon releasing the diesel version in India.
Meanwhile, the i10′s winning fans globally and acquired the title as a hatchback that suits all modern-day requirements- Space, comfort, low on maintenance and fuel costs and fun to drive. What is missed on the i10 is not hard to guess- A diesel heart.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Company, is planning to advance the rollout schedule in India for the diesel variant of its new small car, i10, from the earlier deadline of 2010 to end 2008 or early 2009. This will follow the launch of its much anticipated i20 model which is a couple of months away. According to Heung Soo Lheem, Managing Director [ Read More ]
