The Korean car maker, Hyundai Motors will be presenting its i-flow concept at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show in March. The i-flow concept has been developed jointly by Hyundai and the chemical company, BASF. The i-flow concept will be showcasing Hyundai’s future mobility concept and will be utilizing futuristic materials in the vehicle. These material innovations have not been implemented till date in the field of automobiles and will be providing possibilities of use in the future. With the help of BASF, Hyundai could achieve greater fuel efficiency, lower environmental impact, design freedom and more comfort and safety.

“The i-flow is a milestone on the road to the car of the future. Because Hyundai was quick to involve us in the development process, we were able to offer our full strengths. We are very happy with the outstanding results of our cooperation,” Dr. Wolfgang Hapke, head, Performance Polymers division, BASF, said.

The i-flow concept also features Hyundai’s fluidic design sculpture which is coated with an innovative coating technique from BASF. The i-flow concept is all about futuristic material possibilities which will reduce the environmental impact which today’s vehicles have. For example, the seat frame of the vehicle uses some lightweight construction materials made of Ultramid Balance, a polyamide that consists to 60 percent of re-newable raw materials, as well as other thermoplastics and energy-absorbing foams. Other materials like Luquafleece and Elastollan are moisture-absorbing materials and thermo-plastic polyurethane elastomers.

The i-flow is powered by a diesel engine that is encapsulated in a rigid foam poly-urethane insulation system that protects both the engine and the environment. In city conditions, the engine takes considerable time to reach its optimum efficiency conditions. This special encapsulation helps trap the engine heat and take it up to optimum temperatures thus reducing both emissions and fuel consumption. It also uses a wide range of infrared-transparent and infrared-reflecting pigments in the car interior result in cooler plastic surfaces for the dashboard, seat and center console, a technology called as Passive Heat Management.

Hyundai has revealed its plans for the upcoming Auto Expo. The Hyundai stall is going to be buzzing with action as the company has planned to bring in a host of cars to the biennial event. Making its global debut is the Hyundai HND-7 Compact MPV Concept. This could go into production in a couple of years and would rival the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. Hyundai could use the engines from the i20 and Verna to power the HND-7. Expect Fluidic styling on this MPV, which would help the Korean automaker dislocate Maruti from the top spot. Bollywood actor Shahrukh Khan is expected to unveil the MPV.

Also to be showcased at the Expo is the Veloster Coupe. This is a 3-door utility vehicle and is sold in global markets. The all new Hyundai Elantra (also known as Avante) will be showcased too and is expected to go on sale by the end of 2012. The Elantra will rival the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla Altis and is expected to be priced around Rs. 14 lakhs. Hyundai will offer a wide range of variants on the Elantra, just like it does with the Fluidic Verna. Expect the Verna’s engines to power the Elantra. The complete Hyundai line-up from the Eon to the Santa Fe will be present at the Expo as well. The company will also showcase electric versions of its existing cars.

Hyundai has been testing the Sonata/i45 in India for quite some time now. The next generation of the premium sedan was spotted many times in and around Chennai, where Hyundai has its manufacturing facility. Now the company plans to locally manufacture both the Santa Fe and Sonata in India, in a bid to save on import duties and price the cars more competitively. The devaluation of the Indian Rupee has led to sharp rise in prices of importing these vehicles and this move could spell doom for the competition. The next generation Sonata is an absolute stunner and has created raves globally.

“We have already started complete manufacturing of the Santa Fe in India from August this year. As a result, we have been averaging 225-250 units of the Santa Fe every month. This will be the company’s focus area in the future, too. We will launch the new Sonata in 2012 because we want to remain as a full line-up manufacturer. We would like to maintain that spread. If we want to sell the new Sonata, we will have to produce it locally to bring down its cost. As a result, we will be doing the complete manufacturing here in India,” Arvind Saxena, director (marketing and sales), Hyundai India, said.

We expect the 2012 Santa Fe to be completely build in India. The Santa Fe facelift will get the Fluidic styling and should be more competitively price in order to compete with cars like the Toyota Fortuner and 2012 Honda CR-V. The 2012 Sonata will be priced around Rs. 18 lakhs and will compete with the Skoda Superb, Volkswagen Passat and Honda Accord. The new Sonata will be showcased at the 2012 Auto Expo and will be available with a diesel engine at launch. An automatic variant is expected too.

The year 2011 has been quite rough for the auto industry. Car sales have plummeted down in the recent months due to increase in petrol prices and also rise in the interest rates. The months of November and December show a dip in car sales every year because people wait for the New Year to arrive so that they can have the 2012 registration. In this challenging time, car makers try to woo the customers by offering massive discounts on their models. Hyundai India, the country’s second largest car maker has announced big discount schemes on 4 of its models, the Santro Xing, the i10, the i20 and the Accent.

The petrol powered i20 comes with an offer of free petrol worth Rs. 200 which translates to Rs. 14,000. The Santro Xing is now being offered at a massive discount of over Rs. 30,000 in the form of free insurance, a special gift cheque and exchange bonus. The i10 which is the best selling model from Hyundai also gets massive discounts as the car is petrol powered and hence will suffer in sales volumes since customers are migrating to diesel cars. The same goes with the petrol i20 and the Accent. The Verna is not getting any discount offers since it is equipped with a diesel and sells hotly in its segment. There has been no discount on the recently launched EON also. Apart from these made-in-India cars, the Santa FE which sells in India as a CBU is also not having any discounts though the car hasn’t seen good sales volumes.

A couple of years ago, if anyone talked about the design of a Hyundai car, people would say it is a copy of some other vehicle. However things have changed drastically and Hyundai has emerged from a carmaker who used to take cues from other car companies for its styling to have its own family design language. The latest Fluidic styling has gone very well with customers and the Korean automaker is churning out some awesomely looking cars. Now people have started to talk about Hyundai design and people are buying Hyundai cars not just for the value it offers but also for how it looks. But how did Hyundai manage to change its design outlook overnight?

Ex-Audi designer Peter Schreyer is responsible for the new styling and DNA for Kia Motors (sister company of Hyundai). The Fluidic Sculpture design language for Hyundai originates from Hyundai’s studios in Germany, under the guidance of ex-Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Toyota designer Thomas Burkle. It all started with the all new Sonata/i45 in 2010, when the company showcased the stunning looking family look for the very first time. The same soon featured on the Elantra/Avante, followed by the Accent/Verna. Soon Hyundai took the Fluidic theme to the i10 and then the Tucson. The latest car to receive the family look is the Eon, with the i20 and Santa Fe expected to get the Fluidic sculpture as well. Who could have thought, Hyundai would give companies like Volkswagen and Toyota a fight for becoming the world’s number 1 automaker!

Thanks for the tip Chandan Basu Mallik.

Just recently we were whining about the cheapest SUV from Hyundai in India being the Santa Fe, costing no less than Rs. 30 lakhs. Looks like Hyundai India has heard us or probably seen the tremendous response for the Mahindra XUV500, because the Korean automaker is now planning to launch a compact SUV, which could measure less than 4-meters in length and could be priced around Rs. 10 lakhs. The company is already on the job and is already up with a concept, which it plans to showcase at the 2012 Auto Expo. Now making an all new SUV for a company like Mahindra is a tedious job, but not so for a company like Hyundai, which has the platform, powertrains and the manufacturing set in place to pull this off with ease.

This is not the very first time that Hyundai India has planned a compact SUV for India. Years ago, the company sold the Tucson crossover, which did not do well as the Indian market was still evolving and the Tucson was priced quite high, thanks to the CBU route the company took in getting it here. Now with local manufacturing and sharing of components with other cars in the portfolio, Hyundai has a huge chance in pulling off what Mahindra has. Details on the compact SUV are still under wraps with the company choosing not to speak anything about it, just yet!

The car pictured here is the Hyundai Tucson and has no relation to the low cost SUV. The car was spotted undergoing tests in Kolkata and sported Bhutan test plates.

Hyundai has said that it is currently putting its plans of setting up a diesel engine plant in India on hold. The upcoming plant was supposed to have a production capacity of 1.5 lakh units per annum. The company says the reason behind taking such a call is the sluggish demand for cars in recent months. Hyundai Motor’s domestic sales in the month of October fell by 4.95% to 33,001 units from 34,720 units in the same month last year. The export volumes also dropped by 12.42% from 17,497 units to 15,324 units in the year-ago month.

“Given the fact that the market is not buoyant at the moment, our diesel engine plant plans are on hold at the moment. The company will hold its plans for a “medium term”. Having invested USD 2 billion in India (so far), we can only move forward and stay committed to this market,” a Hyundai India spokesperson said.

In December 2010, Mr. Han Woo Park, Hyundai India’s Managing Director and CEO had said that the company is looking forward to invest a hefty Rs. 400 crores over a period of three years to setup a diesel engine plant with an installed capacity of 1.5 lakhs units per year. The feasibility study of setting up the plant in India had been carried out and would soon be announcing the location of setting up the plant in few months time. The diesel engine plant would be setup to produce the 1.1 litre, 1.4 litre and the 1.6 litre engines for the Indian markets. Presently, the company is importing the diesel engines being used in the i20 and Verna from Korea. The company has already invested a total of USD 2 million and is thinking of going slow mainly because of the recent volatility in the Indian car sales.

Hyundai is going on a product onslaught strategy in India. The Korean automaker has big plans for Indian customers with the launch of close to 15 models by 2015. With the entry of global car makers in India, Hyundai has seen a slight decrease in its market share and plans to counter that by offering more products to customers. The upcoming cars will feature Hyundai’s latest styling theme, fluidic and will cater to not only the small car segment but even the premium segment. But Hyundai is not alone as even Maruti Suzuki had recently announced its plans to launch a array of vehicles to maintain its market share in the country.

So what could these 15 models be? To start off with Hyundai will launch an LPG version of the Eon, which will help the company counter increasing petrol prices. After the Eon LPG, we can expect the Sonata/i45 to make its way to nearby Hyundai showrooms. The Avante (or the new Elantra) is on the cards as well but we are yet to get any information on its Indian arrival. A small facelift of the i20 will soon makes it way and new variants of the i10 will be launched to counter the attack from Honda’s Brio. Hyundai doesn’t seem to be betting on a compact SUV, which has huge potential in India. The cheapest and most expensive SUV from Hyundai is the Santa Fe, which being a CBU is out of the reach of many.

Bookings of the Hyundai cars have slowly started to rise in the event of the on-going strike at the Maruti Suzuki’s production facility at Manesar and low volume turnover in the Gurgaon facility. “Bookings of Hyundai’s cars have increased to some extent”, R Sethuraman, Sr VP (finance & corporate affairs) of HMIL quoted. To a similar query, he added that Hyundai’s market share might rise due to the problem at Maruti Suzuki. The company is currently having a market share of 18.3% of the total domestic car sales volumes. The company recently launched its small car EON to take on the widely selling Maruti Suzuki’s Alto at a price of Rs. 2.69 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). The company is betting big with the launch of the small car and plans to sell around 1.5 lakh units a year.

The production capacity of its manufacturing facility at Chennai is also being ramped up from 6.3 lakh units to 6.7 lakh units per year. The company is targeting a growth of 10% in this fiscal and taking its market foothold from 18.3% to about 20%. Hyundai Motor India is the country’s second largest car maker after Maruti Suzuki and the largest exporter of cars. The company exports its vehicles to around 115 countries from India.

Hyundai is planning to unleash its small car attack in India soon with the launch of its 800cc HA. The Korean automaker plans to expand into rural areas by opening 300 rural sales outlets within the next two months. Hyundai plans to launch the HA (H800) this November, 2011 and will price it below Rs. 3 lakh. The Hyundai HA, which will directly compete with the Maruti Suzuki Alto, is being positioned heavily for the rural markets. Hyundai’s sales network will reach 1000 after the opening of these new outlets. The company has standard 325 dealerships in cities.

“We have already put in place 700 rural sales outlets and plan to add 300 more in the next couple of months. These are physical locations built with a small investment and are not the standard brick and mortar model. These will help us get closer to the customer with our executives conducting car demos, test drives and also small repair requirements. The typical size of a rural showroom is 900 sq ft. About 150 of these showrooms also have their own service workshops measuring 2,000 sq ft,” Arvind Saxena, director (marketing and sales), Hyundai India, said.

Source – MyDigitalFC, Rendering Courtesy – IAB