Hyundai Motor India on Thursday said it would be launching a "new generation" model of its mid-size offering 'Accent' in the Indian market around the latter part of 2006 for which it would be investing close to $130 million.
The announcement comes just as the company prepares to launch an all-new version of its luxury sedan 'Sonata' next month.
"We plan to launch the new Accent somewhere between September 2006 and January 2007," Hyundai Motor India president B V R Subbu told newspersons in New Delhi.
The company, which has lined up investments to the tune of $500 million (including for a new plant) for the Indian market, said the new Accent would be built on a new platform.
Asked whether it would sport the engine capacity as the existing Accent, he said these things were being worked out.
The Accent, which sports a 1.5-litre CRDi diesel and petrol engines, currently comes in the price band of Rs 520,000-700,000 (ex-showroom Delhi). Apart from selling it in the Indian market, Hyundai also exports the model.
Asked whether the company would price the new Accent at prices similar to the existing model, he said, "We would like to do that."
Subbu said the company was looking to raise the production of the Accent to cater to the domestic market as well as to export commitments. Currently, it manufactures around 3,000 cars of the model, but is looking to augment the production by around 50 per cent by next year.