Hyundai is planning to introduce a tiny city car to Australia to sit beneath its Getz and Accent small cars.
The Indian-built i10 will be priced below the $13,990 three-door Getz hatch, making it the cheapest car in the local market.
The i10 is already available overseas and Hyundai Australia is putting together a business case for bringing the car down-under.
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If it goes ahead, the car could reach Australia by the fourth quarter of next year.
The company has had a display vehicle in Australia for market research for several months and is confident the car can carve a niche in a local market that has recently embraced small cars.
Hyundai’s director of sales and marketing, Kevin McCann says the company expects to sell roughly 500 cars a month initially and build volumes gradually over a number of years as buyers shift to smaller, more economical cars.
The car is likely to be available initially as a 1.0-litre petrol model, although a small diesel engine is also under consideration.
“We’re still finishing the business case for the diesel. When you get down to this size of engine in a petrol car it is already pretty economical anyway,” he says.
“People also see a smaller car as having a lower environmental footprint and there is definitely higher awareness of environmental issues these days.”
The i10 would follow the Australian introduction of the more upmarket i20 small car, which should arrive in Australia in the third quarter of next year.
The two cars would spearhead a four-car assault on the small car market by Hyundai, which plans to sell the existing Getz and Accent cars alongside the i20 and i10.
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