Hyundai''s mid-size car will roll out in October

The mid-size car from the Hyundai stable, codenamed LC -- is at the pilot production stage and is slated to be on display at the Frankfurt motor show beginning 14 September 1999. The model will be introduced as Accent in the Indian market in October, when it will be launched in other countries too.

The 1,500-cc, 93 bhp, 12-valve petrol engine will be produced at the company''s Irungattukottai plant near Chennai, while the 53 bhp diesel engine will be imported from Peugeot of France. The company will introduce the diesel variant only in India.

Hyundai sources say the price of the petrol models will vary between Rs 5.5 lakh and Rs 6 lakh, and the company intends to use this model to take on other mid-size cars like Maruti''s Esteem and the Honda City. The diesel models will be priced about Rs 70,000 higher. The company is not revealing the mileage performance of the vehicles.

The car will have a 70 per cent indigenous content. The company has set a sales target of 3,000 units in 1999 and 15,000 units in the year 2000.

Hyundai has invested about $90 million in the LC project, which is part of the group''s total $614 million investment in India.

Meanwhile, cumulative sales of Hyundai Motor''s Santro small car crossed the 35,000 mark in July 1999. To meet the growing demand and to wipe out the waiting list for the model, Hyundai Motor India has hiked Santro''s production by 55 per cent from July.