All - new i20 to be revealed at the Paris Motor Show

New Delhi, September 3rd 2008: Six new Hyundai models will make their international debut at this year`s Paris "Mondial de l`automobile". Hyundai Motor Company will use this event to showcase several production - ready vehicles designed and built for Europe, as well as demonstrate its `green` credentials with two innovative concepts, the eye-catching Coupe show – car and the premium sedan Genesis. Taking centre stage for its World Premiere will be the all-new i20 sub - compact, set to become a best-seller in the European Hyundai range. Also debuting will be the i20 blue concept, the latest model in Hyundai`s i-blue range of advanced low emissions concepts. Alongside the eye-catching i20 will be the luxurious seven-seat ix55 sports utility vehicle, and Hyundai`s eco-friendly Santa Fe as Petrol-Electric Hybrid concept. All-new i20 The all-new i20 sub- compact, due to be launched in Europe towards the end of 2008, will be a highly significant addition to the new generation of Hyundai vehicles identified by the `i` prefix. Designed at Hyundai`s European Design Centre in Russelsheim, Germany, the chic new five-door i20 rides on a longer wheelbase than its predecessor model, the Getz, giving the i20 an athletic stance and spacious interior architecture. Featuring Hyundai`s distinctive design motifs – a bold chrome-topped grille flanked by piercing teardrop headlamps at the front and striking stacked rear light clusters – the i20`s modern lines are further strengthened by neat detailing, including colour-co-ordinated bumpers, sills and wing mirror. The well-packaged interior boasts generous levels of standard equipment.
Kun Hee Ahn. President for Hyundai Motor Europe commented, "The i20 was designed and engineered to meet European tastes and needs. It was built on an entirely new platform and much of the ride and handling development took place on European roads, which has created a firm and agile drive. At HME, we are confident the i20 will succeed in the fast paced sub compact sector, as it offers much more in terms standard equipment, fuel economy, interior space and style than many of its competitors."The i20 will be manufactured at Hyundai Motor India`s manufacturing facility in Chennai, IndiaAbout HMIL Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea and is the second largest and the fastest growing car manufacturer in India. HMIL presently markets 30 variants of passenger cars across segments. The Santro in the B segment, the Getz Prime and the i10 in the B+ segment, the Accent and the Verna in the C segment, the Sonata Embera in the E segment and the Tucson in the SUV segment.Hyundai Motor India, continuing its tradition of being the fastest growing passenger car manufacturer, registering total sales of 327,160 vehicles in the calendar year (CY) 2007, an increase of 9.2 percent over CY 2006. In the domestic market it clocked a growth of 7.6 percent as compared to 2006 with 200,412 units, while overseas sales grew by 11.8 percent, with exports of 126,748 units.HMIL’s fully integrated state-of-the-art manufacturing plant near Chennai boasts of the most advanced production, quality and testing capabilities in the country. In continuation of its commitment to provide the Indian customer with global technology, HMIL has set up its second plant, which produces an additional 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL’s total production capacity to 600,000 units per annum.HMIL is investing to expand capacity in line with its positioning as HMC’s global export hub for compact cars. Apart from expansion of production capacity, HMIL plans to expand its dealer network, which will be increased from 230 to 300 this year. The year 2007 has been a significant year for Hyundai Motor India. It achieved a significant milestone by rolling out the fastest 400,000th export car. Hyundai exports to over 90 countries globally; even as it plans to continue its thrust in existing export markets, it is gearing up to step up its foray into new markets. The year just ended also saw Hyundai Motor India attaining other milestones with the launch of the i10 and yet another path-breaking record in its young journey by rolling out the fastest 1,500,000th car. Hyundai’s new model i10 which made its global debut here in India in October, 2007 made a clean sweep of all the ‘Car of the Year 2008’ awards from the leading automotive magazines and TV channels like BS Motoring, CNBC-TV18 AutoCar, NDTV Profit Car & Bike India and Overdrive magazine. The i10 is also the choice of the discerning automotive media of the country as they conferred the prestigious ‘Indian Car of the Year’ (ICOTY) award to the i10 as well. The i10 bagged these awards on the basis of excellence in build quality, handling, driver comfort, safety and ride quality.The Santro and the Accent also received the ‘TNS Voice of the Customer - 2008’ award for the Premium Compact Car (Santro) and the Entry Mid size Car (Accent). In March 2008 it achieved yet another milestone by rolling out the fastest 500,000th export car.Last year, the Hyundai Verna bagged some of the most prestigious awards starting with the title of "Car of the Year 2007" by India`s leading automotive publication – Overdrive, the “Best Mid-size Car of the Year” award by the NDTV Profit Car & Bike India Awards 2007, the “Best Value for Money Car” by the CNBC Autocar Auto awards and ‘Performance Car of the Year 2007’ from Business Standard Motoring.Hyundai cars have been a favorite at all awards ceremonies and have always been winning awards. Our models like Sonata Embera won the ‘Executive Car of The Year 2006’ award from Business Standard Motoring Magazine and NDTV Profit Car & Bike India declared the Tucson as the ‘SUV of The Year 2006’. Not only this, HMIL has also been awarded the benchmark ISO 14001 certification for its sustainable environment management practices.For further information contact:VAnand Hyundai Motor India Ltd. email: anandv@hmil.net Aparna Srivastava IPAN email: aparna.srivastava@ipan.com

http://www.hyundai.co.in/presspop.asp?newsID=395&newsTitle=All - new i20 to be revealed at the Paris Motor Show