The Hindu Business Line : Hyundai phases out Accent CRDi, Viva models

Mumbai May 16 Hyundai Motor India has phased out the Accent CRDi (diesel) variant and the Viva (petrol and diesel) model. A company spokesperson said only the GLE petrol variant would now represent the Accent range.

The Accent CRDi, launched in October 2002, was the first car in the mid-size segment to feature the CRDi (Common Rail Direct Injection) diesel technology; the Viva model (petrol launched in August 2002, diesel in January 2004) was the first sports notchback vehicle in the mid-size segment.

This was the second batch of variants in the Accent range that were discontinued. Earlier, the company had discontinued GTX-Tornado, GLX and the GLS model.

The GTX model came with a 1.6-litre engine and safety features such as ABS (Anti-Brake Locking System).

The phase-out of old models would help remove production constraints on the roll-out of new and promising models such as Getz and Verna.

Hyundai recently introduced a revamped Getz with a smaller 1.1-litre petrol engine against the earlier 1.3 litre engine.

The new engine (eligible for tax sops) has received a positive response with a waiting period of one to two months.

The change has also pleased motoring critics. From March 2007, it is the latest Hyundai model to be exported with a target of 20,000 units per year for the next five years. Forty thousand units will be exported in the first fiscal, said senior officials.

It will be exported mainly to the European markets as it meets all their safety and emission standards.

With the success of Verna (especially the diesel variant) in the domestic market, the company recently launched the top of the line CRDi SRX variant.

It comes with new features such as keyless entry with burglar alarm, and instrumentation upgrade to display information such as outside temperature and distance to empty for the fuel that is an industry first in its segment.

The new models have enabled the company to reduce the variants in the Accent range to the GLE model, which continues to sell 700-800 units a month.

According to senior officials, the GLE model is ideal for the debutant buyer in the mid-size segment and is primarily well suited for the fleet market.

Company officials said exports of the Accent model to Morocco, Algeria, Sri Lanka and other countries will continue.