The country’s second-largest car maker, Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), on Thursday launched a new version of its premium sedan Sonata, priced between Rs 18.53 lakh and Rs 20.61 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).
Hyundai had discontinued production of the fifth-generation Sonata, earlier in January, this year. The upgraded version has now been introduced to take on the likes of Honda Accord and Skoda Superb.
“The all new Sonata powered by our GDi engine offers best-in-class features. Competitively priced, the Sonata offers a stylish new choice to the premium customer,” said B S Seo, managing director and chief executive officer, HMIL. While the manual transmission version of the Sonata is priced at Rs 18,53 lakh, the automatic transmission one is available at Rs 20,61 lakh.
The premium sedan segment in which Sonata is positioned registers sales of 6,000 units annually. Skoda Superb, with sales of 2,731 units till February this financial year, is a leader in the category. Hyundai could sell only 106 units of the fifth-generation Sonata during the period.
The company, which had showcased the sixth generation version of the Sonata at the 11th Auto Expo here in January, has already commenced production of the sedan since February this year. The car has a localisation content of 15 per cent and will be assembled from completely knocked down units at its plant in Chennai.
Hyundai has launched the new Sonata with a 2.4 litre GDi petrol engine and a six-speed transmission system. The new Sonata comes with a host of features like front and rear seat ventilation, front seat warmers, high intensity xenon head lamps, cruise control, six airbags.
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With an eye on shoring up volumes, HMIL is looking at introducing a complete line-up in the domestic market over the next three years.
While the company brought in premium sports utility vehicle Santa Fe to draw in consumers at the upper end of the spectrum in October 2010, it introduced a small car Eon in October 2011. HMIL has sold 359,647 units till February this financial year, registering a growth of 6.75 per cent.