Hyundai had discontinued the smaller Eon hatchback last year in October and hence had no other model left in the entry level hatchback segment. Instead the company had launched the Santro in India. Hyundai Santro lock horns with Maruti Suzuki WagonR and Tata Tiago in the market. This makes the Santro most affordable car in the company’s line-up and leaves the brand with no option when it comes to challenging smaller cars like the Maruti Suzuki Alto variants and Renault Kwid. Now wanting to lose share when it comes to the sales in market the company is all set to bring out a smaller and more affordable variant of the Santro hatchback in the market that will take on the likes of Renault Kwid and Maruti Alto in the entry level hatchback segment in the Indian market.
There are reports on the internet suggesting that the South Korean maker is working on a new trim of the Santro that will be placed in the entry-level hatchback segment in the market. The move to introduce a stripped down and affordable variant of the Santro will not only help the company challenge other rivals in the segment, it will also save the company a lot of money as it will not have to develop an all-new model that will have to comply with the safety tests. This move will be similar to what the company did with the Santro when it was launched the first time around in the Indian market. At that time the company had launched the Xing variant of Santro to take on Maruti Alto among others in the Indian market.
The company had earlier decided to cater to the customers who were moving up ahead the car model chain and were looking at more spacious and feature packed options. However, the entry-level hatchback segment still pulls a sizeable chunk of first-time car buyers and the market share here is too large to simply bow out of the race. As of now, the Maruti Alto is the best-selling car in India and it belongs to the entry-level hatchback segment.
Talking about the Hyundai Santro, it comes with a 1.1L 4-cylinder petrol engine that is rated to deliver 68 Bhp and 101 Nm. The engine comes with the option of a manual gearbox as well as an AMT automatic transmission unit. The company also offers a CNG dual fuel variant of the car in select markets. The prices for Hyundai Santro start at Rs. 3.9 lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi. The company may cut down on some features of the car in order to make it more affordable to take on models like Renault Kwid and Maruti Alto in the market. However, the information on this aspect still remains scant.