The deadline for the strict BS-VI emission norms compliance has been set as 1 April, 2020. Ahead of the deadline several carmakers in the country have communicated their strategy in the BS-VI regime. One among such makers in the South Korean company Hyundai, the brand has already stated that it has no intention of leaving the diesel car market and it will continue the production of both petrol and diesel cars. This means that the company will have to update its entire product line-up in the Indian market as per the upcoming BS-VI emission norms. While other makers like Maruti Suzuki have already launched a number of BS-VI compliant vehicles in the Indian market, Hyundai has so far only launched one BS-VI compliant vehicle in the market, the Grand i10 NIOS. However, the maker has stated that it plans on launching their BS-VI compliant vehicles in the Indian market from the start of 2020.
The model line-up of the South Korean carmaker in India as of now constitutes cars such as Venue, Santro, Elantra, Elite i20, Verna, Creta, and Tucson. Among them, the Venue sub-4 metre compact SUV is one of the latest models of the brand, but even this does not come with a BS-VI compliant engine as of now.
There are reports that the South Korean manufacturer is working on an all-new diesel engine that will comply with the upcoming stricter BS-VI emission norms of the country. This engine is likely to be a 1.5L unit that will be found on the upcoming models of the more expensive cars of the maker. However, there is no clarity on the smaller capacity diesel engine from the company as of now as the former engine is reserved only for the higher models of the brand.
Recently, the largest carmaker of India Maruti Suzuki made the announcement that they will stay away from the manufacture of diesel cars for Indian market in the initial phases of the BS-VI emission norms. However, Hyundai has no plans as such. To let you know, the brand offers diesel model on almost all its cars in the Indian market as of now, this list includes models like the Hyundai Grand i10, Hyundai Xcent, Hyundai i20 Elite and Hyundai Verna. The petrol and diesel models in the BS-VI regime will come at a higher price than the current cars, and the diesel cars will especially see a larger price hike. Since the South Korean maker will launch its BS-VI compliant vehicles in the market from early 2020, the BS-IV models of the brand will also be sold alongside the new BS-VI models till the date the government allows the makers to do so. This will help the brand offer vehicles to the customers at an economical price point till they legally can.