Hyundai to launch its MPV and the all-new Verna in India in 2016
A few weeks ago, Rakesh Srivastava, vice president, Hyundai India, confirmed that the carmaker aims to launch its first multi-purpose people carrier by 2016. Likely to draw inspiration from the Hexa Space concept from the 2012 Auto Expo, the upcoming MPV will be a stylish offering that'll take on the likes of the Honda Mobilio, Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, Toyota Innova and the.
The Hexa Space featured eight captain seats set in a hexagonal arrangement to maximise shoulder room for all eight occupants. The production model will run a more conventional seven or eight-seater configuration though, unless Hyundai finds a way to make the hexagonal arrangement safe and ergonomic. The Hexa Space concept is based on the ix20 crossover, which has been constantly spotted on evaluation rounds in India since 2013. The production MPV, however, will be based on the Elite i20's underpinnings.
Also slated for 2016 is the all-new Verna. This car is expected to sport a new face touted to be unlike any Hyundai designs we know of. The Verna model-line is quite an important one for Hyundai since it revived the carmaker's fortunes in the mid-size sedan segment.
The all-new model is expected to take it further with a slew of new features and technologies including the new 7-speed dual clutch transmission that was shown at the 2014 Paris Motor Show. This 7-DCT gearbox was made available recently on the 2015 Accent which was launched earlier this week in Korea. Its Indian counterpart though, which is due to be launched in India this February, won't get the updated transmission. Speaking of which, we are driving the 2015 Hyundai Verna facelift in the first week of February, so stay tuned to OVERDRIVE for all the updates.
Image source: blog.naver.com