Hot Wheels

Geneva, March 7 (PTI): Hoping to turn the tables on rival Maruti Suzuki’s Swift, Korean car major Hyundai will launch a new version of its premium hatchback Getz under a new name the Getz Prime by the end of this month in India.

“This model will be both for exports and the domestic market. While it will retain the name Getz for exports to the European market, we will launch it as the Getz Prime in the domestic market,” Hyundai Motor India managing director H. S. Lheem said.

He said the Getz Prime will come in two petrol engine variants of 1.1 litre and 1.3 litre, enabling it to partly qualify for the benefit of excise duty on small cars.

According to finance ministry’s definition, small cars have been defined as petrol cars with an engine capacity not exceeding 1,200 cc and not exceeding 4,000 mm in length, and diesel cars of engine capacity not exceeding 1,500 cc and not exceeding 4,000 mm in length.

“Towards the third quarter we are planning to bring the diesel variant of the Getz Prime with 1.5 litre common rail direct injection (CRDI) engine, similar to the one in the Verna,” Lheem said.

Asked about the pricing of the car, he declined to comment, but said “it will be very competitive”. He said the company will export the car to Europe, which will be the first time that the Getz will be shipped out from India, and follow it up with the domestic launch.

Hyundai has been struggling to compete with Maruti Udyog’s runaway success the Swift in the premium hatchback category and the new Prime with competitive pricing is expected to give it the much needed boost.

The Korean car major, which has introduced a new C segment car for Europe under the ‘i30’ name, is looking at the possibility of bringing it to India.

“We are currently studying the feasibility of bringing the ‘i30’ to India as a replacement for the Elantra but nothing has been finalised yet,” Lheem said.

He also said HMIL will export the compact car that is being currently developed under the code name PA to Europe as ‘i10’, following the company’s decision to sell its cars with an alpha-numeric pattern in Europe.