New Hyundai i10 is powered by 1.2 litre Kappa engine

Chennai: India's second largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor India, has launched a new variant of its popular hatchback 'i10', powered by a 1.2 litre Kappa engine. The new i10 is priced between Rs3.99 lakh to Rs5.43 lakh. According to a company official, the new engine is exclusively manufactured in India only.

The company has invested $421 million on the Kappa project, over a period of 48 months.In a bid to gain a significant foothold in the demanding small car segmet in the country, the Korean carmaker has also put in $250 million for its new engine and transmission plant in Chennai, with a production capacity of 2.5 lakh units per annum.

Hyundai Motor is the fifth biggest carmaker in the world with the Indian operation contributing 12 per cent of its overall global sales, according to the official.

Initially the company will sell the new i10 in the Indian market and will export it based on the the domestic demand.

The current Hyundai hatchback models Santro and i10 are both powered by 1.1 litre engines, but the new Kappa engine would significantly raise the bar in this segment.

Since its launch in 2007, the company has sold 1.85 lakh units of 'i10', of which 75,000 units were sold in the domestic market.

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