Hyundai To Discontinue Diesel Engine on Grand i10 Post Launch of Grand i10 NIOS

As we had already informed you, the South Korean maker Hyundai is planning to sell the current Grand i10 hatch along with the upcoming updated model of the same in the Indian market. The updated model of the Grand i10 hatch will be the Grand i10 NIOS hatch and will come with a lot of changes as compared to the current model. The launch of the updated model is scheduled to take place later this month. However, there are reports on the internet stating that in order to keep all the options relevant in the market and prevent cannibalisation of sales, the maker had decided to discontinue the diesel engine model of the current Grand i10 in India after the i10 NIOS will be launched. However, the updated Grand i10 NIOS will still come with the option of a petrol and a turbo diesel engine.

The fact that only the petrol model of the current Grand i10 will be sold in India leads us to conclude that the hatch will act as a bridge between the mid-size hatch i10 NIOS and the small hatch Santro. This might prove to be a smart strategy from the South Korean brand as the current Grand i10, though dated, still comes with a lot of features. Moreover, a price drop for the current Grand i10 after the launch of i10 NIOS will mean that the former will become an even more attractive option in the market. This is the same strategy that the maker had adopted when it launched the Grand i10 in the market, and dropped the prices for the older i10.

The current Grand i10 comes with a 1.2L Kappa petrol engine rated to deliver 83 HP and 190 Nm. This engine will also be upgraded to meet the BS-VI emission norms in the future. Meanwhile, the sole transmission on offer with the Grand i10 will be the 5 speed manual unit. The AMT unit may just be reserved only for the Grand i10 NIOS.

Talking of the Grand i10 NIOS, upon launch, it will lock horns with Maruti Suzuki Swift and Ford Figo among others in the segment. The upcoming hatch from the brand is based on the platform used in the newer version of Santro and it has been extended the form the underpinnings of the new larger hatch. The new platform will not only make the upcoming i10 NIOS bigger, it will also help the hatch shed a lot of weight.