Hyundai to launch electric SUV Kona in India in July
Guwahati: South Korean auto major Hyundai will drive in its first electric vehicle 'Kona' SUV into India in July, followed by a brand new 'Grand i10' before the festive season as it looks to increase its share in the auto market here, a top company official said on Wednesday.
Besides, the automaker, which is present in India through its wholly owned subsidiary Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), is planning to start exporting its latest compact SUV 'Venue' from its Chennai factory in the next 3-4 months. "We are constantly adding new products in our portfolio for the Indian market. We will launch our electric SUV 'Kona' in India in July," HMIL Senior General Manager and Group Head (Marketing) Puneet Anand said.
He, however, declined to share specification details of the proposed sports utility vehicle planned for India. Earlier, Hyundai had announced plans to launch its first electric vehicle in a completely knock-down (CKD) form, which would be assembled at HMIL's manufacturing plant in Chennai. "After the electric vehicle, we will introduce a full model change variant of an existing small car. It is going to be the 'Grand i10' and it will hit the roads before the festival season this year," Anand said.
When asked about its latest compact SUV 'Venue', the senior official said the company has already received over 20,000 bookings and the waiting period of the vehicle is around 3-4 months at present depending upon different options. "We are currently producing around 7,000 units of the 'Venue' per month at our Chennai plant. We have the capability to ramp up production and we plan to increase the output to monthly 10,000 units within next 3-4 months," Anand explained.
On exports of the model, he said the company's first aim is to fulfill the requirement of the domestic market and does not have immediate plans to sell overseas countries. "After we stabilise the sales in India, we will start exporting the 'Venue' to our existing strong overseas markets. I do not think the export will begin before next 3-4 months," Anand said.