Verna to hit Indian roads this year

Hyundai Motor India is planning to launch the Verna, a mid-size sedan,  some time between August and October this year.

While the existing range of Accent would continue to compete against models such as Ford Ikon, the Verna is expected to be priced higher to take on higher-end C segment models such as Honda City and the recently launched Ford Fiesta.

The Verna, according to HMIL's president, BVR Subbu, will be retailed as more than just an aspirational model, gunning for big volumes.

The company is planning to roll out the model both in petrol and diesel range possibly with an engine capacity of 1.6 litre.

HMIL is also planning to increase the price of its premium hatchback, Getz by the end of this month. Subbu said the price rise is in line with the price increase effected on two of its most popular models, Accent and Santro late last year.

"We cannot postpone the hike in the prices of our production models. So we would be hiking the price of Getz by the end of this month," he said.

Growth in the current calendar year, for Hyundai, he said, would be in the region of 20 per cent, repeating the performance reported in the previous calendar year, while the industry grew by only eight per cent during the same period.

"Exports this year should easily cross the one-lakh mark," he said. The company had exported 96,000 units in 2005.

The new version of the Santro, according to Subbu, could be launched sometime in the first quarter of 2008, when the company's expanded capacity would be ready for commercial production.