| The second largest car maker in the country has been facing a tough time in the premium car segment, with sales failing to pick up. |
| The auto major's poor performance in the segment can be gauged from the fact that it sold only 335 units of Sonata during the April-December period this year against the target of 200 units per month. It managed to sell only 34 units in December. |
| The company expects to increase sales with the launch of the diesel variant and aims to sell 75 to 100 units per month. H S Lheem, managing director, Hyundai Motors, said: "We expect a significant increase in the sales of Sonata, and about 60-70 per cent of these are expected to come from the diesel variant over the next few months." |
| The new variant is powered by a common rail direct injection (CRDi) engine with variable geometry turbocharger (VGT), and comes in six colours. The other features of the car include anti-lock brake system, dual-front air bags and seat belts with pre-tensioners. |
| The company is also planning to launch a new compact car, positioned between its flagship model Santro and hatchback Getz. The new car will be pitted against Maruti's popular model WagonR and Zen Estilo. |
| A company executive said the car, code-named 'Pa', is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of the current financial year or sometime in the early next year. |
| Though Lheem declined to divulge further details of the new compact car, he confirmed that the company had finalised plans for manufacturing plants and a diesel engine manufacturing facility in Chennai. |
| Hyundai had set a sales target of 3.4 lakh units for the current financial year, and sold 2.3 lakh cars (including exports) by the end of December last year. |
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