Hyundai is on a model offensive. The company wants the numero uno spot in the Indian car market and is planning a slew of launches to beat current leader Maruti Suzuki. Hyundai is present in almost all the segments but still doesn’t have an offering in the sub 4-metre compact sedan space. With the Accent now discontinued, the Korean automaker needs an entry-level sedan to rival the Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire and Honda Amaze. Earlier this year, news emerged about the i10 sedan being under development but now the compact sedan will sit on the Grand i10’s platform.
The Grand i10 is nothing but a re-named second generation i10 with minor changes for the Indian market. Our rendering of the Hyundai Grand i10 sedan above shows the sub 4-metre vehicle to be a neat looking one. The rear windows and rear doors will be slightly bigger and the Grand i10 will draw power from the 1.2-litre Kappa petrol engine and 1.4-litre CRDi diesel engine. These engines will offer frugal performance to Hyundai’s compact sedan, which will be positioned right under the Verna and besides the i20 in the company’s portfolio.
Hyundai wants to become the leader in the compact car space and to do that, the sedan version of the Grand i10 will be vital to the automaker. The compact sedan segment is seeing high growth and more players are expected to enter this market. The development of the Grand i10 has seen heavy inputs from Hyundai India and by the end of this decade, the Korean automaker will be able to churn out completely ‘Engineered in India’ cars with almost no input from the company’s head quarters, resulting in faster development of vehicles, which are more suited to local needs.
