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Hyundai Teraccan to sport Rs 20 lakh price tag

Partha Ghosh in New Delhi

Teraccan, the sports utility vehicle from the stables of Korean car-maker Hyundai Motor, which is due for launch in the third quarter of this calendar year, will sport a 3 litre diesel engine and a price tag of around Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million), a senior company executive said.

The executive said efforts are on to bring prices below Rs 20 lakh to remain competitive against the Mitsubishi Pajero and the imminent launches from Toyota and Honda. Honda is on record saying that it will launch its sports utility vehicle, CR-V, "anytime now" and its price will be in the Rs 15-16 lakh (Rs 1.5-1.6 million) range.

The source said road tests of the Teraccan have already started and the vehicle will soon go for homologation. Initially, the vehicle is likely to be imported in the completely built unit form. SKD assembly will commence thereafter.

Tests of the super-B segment car, Getz, are also likely to commence soon. A decision on the Getz is likely in the next one month, and thereafter, the vehicle will be prepared to hit the road over a eight month period.

"We have not done any study on the mutli-utility vehicle as yet. We will first launch the Teraccan and then go on to launch the Getz," the source added.

The Getz will be positioned in the super B segment, which is now dominated by the Fiat Palio, though the company source said the positioning of the vehicle will match the Tata Indica.

Hyundai has no plans to launch a second car in the C-segment. It will continue to be present in the segment with its existing offering, Accent.

On Friday, the company launched a new 5-door semi-notchback version of the car to create excitement around the model which has been around for over two years now.

"Internally, we have not discussed another model for either the C or D segments of the market," the executive said.

For the time being, the car maker will concentrate on the B-segment as well as on new categories like SUVs and the super B segment.

The company is working on a new export model and will stress on exports from 2003-04, Hyundai Motor India Ltd's managing director JI Kim said. He added that the Santro will emerge as car primarily for exports from next year.

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