Hyundai unveils new version of Verna sedan

According to Korean car maker Hyundai's Indian unit it would launch a number of new cars across all segments in the Indian market. With the roll-out of  a series of new cars in the mid and full size car segment, the company would be able to make over its present image of a small car maker.

Aimed at strengthening its positing in the entry level sedan segment, the company rolled-out a new version of its Verna sedan in India yesterday which is priced in the range of Rs6.99 lakh and Rs10.75 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi).

According to industry watchers, the Korean car major has never been able to make much headway in the sedan segment though is has a dominant presence in the hatchback segment with models like i10, Santro and i20.

With its aggressive pricing strategy for the Verna, the company hopes to make the most of the already-depleting fortunes of one-time heavyweight Honda City, even as it is locked in stiff competition with the Volkswagen Vento, that has been gaining numbers.

The importance of the model,  that Hyundai already sells in many overseas markets, can gauged by the fact that the company's global president & CEO SS Yang had flown in for the event. Hyundai's sales & marketing director Arvind Saxena sought to address perceptions that the company was seen more as a small car maker and had little presence in the sedans.

According to Saxena, the new Verna was a complete generation change from the outgoing model and would pick up in numbers.