New Hyundai Santro 2018 (Codename AH) Spied Testing in India; Will Rival Renault KWID, Maruti Alto

Hyundai Motor Company,the South Korean automotive giant, is working on an all-new new small hatchback that will be showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo in Delhi. This new hatchback will be the new Hyundai Santro 2018 or a spiritual successor to the iconic brand. Internally codenamed as the the Hyundai AH, the new Santro 2018 has been spied testing for the first time in India. According to the spy images, the new Santro stays true to its tall-boy design and contemporary looks. However, not much details are available about the design or the interiors of the car.
Notebly, Hyundai India marked its entry into the Indian market with the Santro, which became a raging hit for the company in India in the 1990s. The Hyundai Santro has been the car for the company in the country and the new generation model is expected to be launched in India as early as Q1 2018. The new Hyundai Santro 2018 will compete against the likes of the Maruti Alto, Renault KWID and the entry-level small hatchbacks from Datsun India.
 Renault India launched the KWID hatchback in India October 2015 in view to take advantage of the huge small car segment. Ever since its launch in India, the Renault KWID has been selling in great numbers for the French carmaker. Segment leader Maruti Alto has seen a significant drop in sales numbers as a result of the introduction of the KWID. Looking at the huge potential in the small car segment, Hyundai has considered re-introducing the Santro in India which was discontinued in December 2014. While the Santro was still doing around 3000 units’ monthly, the success of other Hyundai cars like the i20, Grand i10 and the Xcent, meant a capacity crunch at the production lines which was because of the Santro.

The new 2018 Hyundai Santro will compete against the Maruti Suzuki Alto, Renault KWID, Datsun Go and the Datsun redi-GO hatchback. The new Santro is expected to be priced in the range of INR 3 lakh to INR 5 lakh (ex-showroom). The Hyundai Santro 2018 is expected to be launched in India by mid 2018.

If reports from company insiders are to be believed, the new Hyundai Santro 2018 is being developed at a cost of INR 1,000 crores at the company’s headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. While the prototype will be developed by Hyundai engineers in Korea, the car will be manufactured locally in India and will be exported to global markets from India. The new Hyundai Santro is expected to be a first automatic car in its segment while the company is also considering an AMT variant for the new Santro. Powering the new Santro will be an 800cc and 1.0-litre petrol engines that will come mated to a 5-speed manual and a 4-speed automatic transmission while the company will also offer an AMT transmission.