All New Santro: Everything we know so far about Hyundai's next-gen car

The company will open online pre-bookings for the all-new Santro from October 10-22 with Rs 11,100 as booking amount for the first 50,000 customers.

Korean auto major Hyundai on Tuesday showcased a next-gen Santro, which was the company's first product in India way back in 1998. The 'tall boy' was Hyundai's most popular product name in India.( Business Standard )

Here are the key takeaways:

- The name of the car is All New Santro

- The all-new Santro, which was developed under the code name AH2, will be powered by a 4-cylinder 1.1 litre petrol engine

- It will also be available with automated manual transmission (AMT) and factory-fitted CNG fuel options

- HMIL Managing Director and CEO Y K Koo said the company decided to name the "new family car" as Santro following an overwhelming response from customers in an online poll.

- The company will open online pre-bookings for the all-new Santro from October 10-22 with Rs 11,100 as booking amount for the first 50,000 customers

- 66.6 per cent of five million voted for the name

- Six key pillars for New Santro include style, tall boy design, comfortable and premium cabin, new age technology, customer-centric safety

- Company claims mileage of 20.3 kmpl (MT/AMT)

The original Hyundai Santro was launched on September 23, 1998. Two years later, Hyundai set up its base in India with an investment of $614 million, which was the biggest investment to have been made by any Multinational company in the Indian automotive sector till then.

The company had invested in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, Hyundai's largest plant outside of Korea then.

Santro, being Hyundai's first product in India, was important for the automaker as its future in the country depended on it. Hyundai is now the second largest carmaker in India in the passenger car segment and is one of the leading exporters of cars from India.

The company roped in Shah Rukh Khan, who had just started on his journey to stardom with films like Dilwale Dulhaniya and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai as brand ambassador for the car, which was nicknamed 'tall boy' then.

Meanwhile, though the Santro faced stiff competition in the marketplace from the likes of the Maruti Zen and Tata Indica, its refinement, peppy engine, unusual tall boy design, well-finished and put together interiors and the friendly and helpful sales and service staff, helped the Hyundai Santro script its success story. Significantly, Hyundai Santro was almost simultaneously launched worldwide and Indian customers got the same product as the rest of the world. The then management said it showed that Hyundai cared for Indian consumers and treated them on par with the world and the car went on to become one of India's most successful hatchbacks. The car was discontinued in December 2014... Read More