Hyundai small car in 2011

Come 2011, and Korean automobile behemoth Hyundai Motor would roll out its small car in India. However the company has said that it is not aimed at competing with Tata’s soon to come Nano.

According to Hyundai, the car might sport a price tag of around Rs 1.45 lakh. The low priced car, which is currently under development at Hyundai’s research and development centre in Korea, would also be exported to other countries from India. The company has also said that it doesn’t have immediate plans to fight with the Nano from the Tata stables. The new small car would be manufactured in its Chennai plant.

Smal cars seem to be the in thing among car makers as well as car enthusiasts ever since January when Tata Motors had launched the world’s cheapest carfor Rs 1 lakh. Joining the bandwagon, the country’s second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto also joined hands with Renault-Nissan to launch a small car in India by 2011 that would be priced at the same level of the Nano.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor has clarified that pricing wouldn’t be the company’s first priority as it looks at offering an affordable product to the Indian car buyer.

The impact of rising fuel prices on its sales, however is seen as impacting the car maker as is the case with any other player in the industry. However, as Hyundai’s models are known to be fuel efficient, the impact might not be huge, it hs been pointed out.