Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) received an overwhelming response for its SUV, the Creta, in India. The SUV has received up to 1 lakh bookings, out of which 75,000 units have been booked just in India. The Creta was also named India Car of The Year (ICOTY) 2016.
The response seems to have boosted the confidence of the company that now intends to strengthen its SUV portfolio. Currently, the Hyundai is selling the Creta and the Santa Fe SUVs and the company is reportedly working on a sub 4-metre SUV that will go up against the Mahindra TUV300 and Maruti Suzuki's upcoming compact sedan.
NDTVauto reports that the new SUV will be available in front-wheel drive format and will share most of its underpinning with the i20 Active crossover. The new compact SUV is expected to share the same 1.4-litre diesel and 1.2-litre petrol engine from the i20 Active, but the power and torque figures will be increased.
In terms of design, the compact SUV will feature the Fluidic design theme of Hyundai, which stresses on the flowing theme on body panels with rounded edges. The sub 4-metre SUV is expected to be priced between Rs 7.5 lakh and Rs 9.5 lakh.
With the arrival of the sub 4-metre SUV, Hyundai India's SUV portfolio may have space for just one another vehicle between the Creta and the Santa Fe. To bridge the gap between the two SUVs, Hyundai has confirmed the launch of the Tucson SUV scheduled for debut at the Auto Expo 2016 in February. The launch of Tucson is expected subsequently, while the sub 4-metre SUV launch can be expected in the second half of 2016.
The first generation of the Tucson was sold in India during 2005-2010, but was discontinued due to poor sales. Hyundai is likely to import the new Tucson initially with a starting price of approximately Rs 18 lakh.
