Hyundai India has yet again put the
proposed diesel engine plant on the back burner even as the Indian
government’s policy uncertainty on diesel fuel’s pricing and the
taxation on diesel engined cars remains an unknown area. Due to these
factors, the South Korean automaker is not yet certain of setting up a
diesel engine manufacturing plant with an investment of INR 400 Crores
at its existing production facility at Sriperumbudur, off Chennai.
Currently, Hyundai imports all its diesel engines from South Korea. The
car maker has been contemplating a diesel engine manufacturing plant in
India for a while now.
In India, currently three Hyundai cars,
the i20 hatchback, the Verna Fluidic sedan and the Santa Fe SUV come
with common rail, turbo diesel engines. In August, Hyundai will launch
yet another diesel engined car in the form of the Elantra Fluidic model.
Hyundai’s range of common rail, turbo diesel engines are known for
their high levels of refinement, punchy power delivery and good fuel
economy. Hyundai has been a first mover in terms of bringing technology
packed diesel engines to the Indian car market beginning with the Accent
CRDI with the 3 pot, 1.5 Liter turbodiesel engine, almost a decade ago.
The 1.4 Liter CRDI turbo diesel engine
that puts out 90 Bhp and 220 Nm of peak power is used on the i20 and the
Verna Fluidic models. The 1.6 Liter engine delivering 126 Bhp and 260
Nm is currently used on the Verna Fluidic while the upcoming Elantra
Fluidic will also use this engine. Incidentally, the Elantra Fluidic
getting the diesel engine will represent the first instance of the car
being available with a diesel engine with the car selling in the rest of
the world with only petrol engine options. Both the 1.4 Liter and 1.6
Liter turbo diesel engines are mated to a six speed manual gearbox.
The biggest loser in Hyundai’s car range
with the automaker remaining undecided about the diesel engines plant
would be the likes of the i10 and the Eon, both cars which are not
available with diesel hearts. That said, Hyundai does have a 1.1 Liter
CRDI turbo diesel engine that powers the i10 and the Kia Picanto in the
European market. Importing this engine for use in the i10 and the Eon
could prove expensive for Hyundai, especially since both the cars are
entry level models selling in a very price sensitive segment. So, the
Hyundai i10 will have to wait longer for a diesel engine under the hood.
Courtesy: TheHinduBusinessLine
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