[vineethvazhayil]

A diesel engine on the accent would sure prop up the sales, but the looks of the car are now dated, so they might have to do a facelift to make it more modern.

[MileCruncher]

The price of any car/variant is dependent on its position in its product life cycle apart from its overall market share and position in the product portfolio of the manufacture. If the manufacture feels that they can either upgrade or downgrade the customer group of the proposed car then they would keep doing that instead of making any extra investment in getting a new car.

Also over here the point to note is Ford sells only 1/5th of the cars compared to Hyundai so are more akin to do things to improve their sales compared to Hyundai.

[ashthedivx]

Indeed it will be a instant hit !!

[mac_guy555]

I totally agree with Ardy !! Absolute stonking price and great diesel heart. I hope they do it this month since I am looking for a 3rd car for my wife. Apparently I can "convince her" to drive the Accent instead of the Santro

Originally Posted by Ardy

I think putting a diesel heart to Accent at around 5 - 5.5 would be a stealer ... It would be one of the hottest selling sedans in the marktet.

Only if Hyundai is reading this thread :-)

[supremeBaleno]

Would be a surefire hit. Even at 6 or 6.5 lakhs.

And we can moan all we want about the 3-pot engine, but the common man would not even bother. As long as he gets a reliable diesel at an attractive price, he is happy.

But 'headers' is not gonna be happy if Hyundai does this. Resale value of his Accent-D would go for a toss.

[vijaythacker]

Definately, as executive accent is already selling in good numbers with that price offering, why not to give diesel option as well which would definately see some dzire buyers opt for accent for sure, anything below 6L is surely a big winner for hyundai.

[Sahil]

A mild facelift + CRDi engine @6-6.5 lakhs ex-showroom would work well IMO.

[mmmjgm]

Its a very good proposition, however Hyundai will commit suicide by doing that,

Why ?
1) The Getz CRDI is similiarly priced. Give or take fifty to seventy thousand here and there depending upon registration costs state to state.
2) It will cannibalize sales of the Getz CRDi, Verna CRDi & the possible launch of a diesel i20.

It will go down in history as one of the most benevolent pricing moves by any company in the auto world, that is if its done.

Cheers

[diabloo]

It will be a good deal and will sell in decent numbers too. But Accent is old design - may not fit into today's scheme of things.

[brandon]

It will be a great hit.

Sad though, as I wont be able to buy it, because I just bought the petrol.

Infact they should launch the Viva again

[agspins]

I agree Viva would be appropriate, be absolute steal if priced below 6 lakhs, minor facelift would also freshen up the looks....But all these won't happen......
Dont think hyundai will plan something like this.......
Second of all even if they do so Accent would be their choice as the major chunk would go to Taxi operators..

[revhappy]

That will murder the ugly looking verna hence they wont do.
Right now the only reason people buy the verna despite its ugly looks is because of the engine.

Even if the accent viva crdi was priced at 7 lacs people will still buy it because it looks hot compared to the verna

[predatorwheelz]

Guys,

It seems we're missing a crucial factor here. Hyundai can never do what Ford has done with the Ikon - i.e. launch a cheap diesel version at 5.5 lakhs. Lemme explain.

Ford manufactures its own engines. When the engine is being built from ground up, the manufacturer incurs a huge R&D cost, which it capitalizes and writes off on yearly basis. Nowadays, this is usually for a period of 5 years. Once R&D cost is written off, the total fixed cost per unit of the engine reduces massively. The manufacturer is then in a position to place the engine in lower-priced cars.

The Fiesta was launched in India sometime in Mid 2005, and the 1.4ltr diesel was already in use in foreign markets (Brazil, South Africa etc) before this. Hence by end 2009, the company had managed to write off the sunk cost on the engine, and launched the Ikon diesel at 5.5 lacs with the same engine.

On the other hand, Hyundai India outsources its diesels. The first Accent DLE/DLS came with a Peugeot engine, the subsequent Accent CRDi came with a 3 cylinder sourced from Detroit Diesel. The Verna comes with a Bosch CRDi engine.

Obviously then, Hyundai India does not enjoy the cost write-off benefit on its diesels. Moreover, companies like Detroit Diesel and Bosch have huge R&D centres themselves, which leads to faster product turnarounds. It will really not be beneficial for Detroit Diesel to go back and manufacture a 5 year old 3 cylinder again, unless sufficient volumes are promised (no idea how much that will be).

Way out then? Maybe if Hyundai plonks the Fiat JTD 1.3 Ltr (Like Maruti & Tata have done) into the Accent's engine bay...who knows?

[d_himan]

Unsure if it will fit into Hyundai's global strategy of building a premium imagery for the 'Hyundai' brand and leaving the economy models for 'Kia'....

But yes, a personal experience - a potential Ikon D buyer (colleague) did the TD, liked the car but for the NVH levels, enquired whether Accent CRDi was still available at a similar price and is still a bit undecided. I'm sure there would be a large number of buyers in Indigo/Ikon diesel segment who would blindly go in for the Hyundai if priced sensibly.

[iraghava]

According to a senior official at HMI, they currently make a sizeable loss on every Getz CRDi they sell, part of the reason they do absolutely NO promotion/publicity about the car. In his own words they simply don't want you to buy one. And the loss is indeed sizeable.

So, expecting a Verna Engine+GB combo in the Accent is faintly absurd, and expecting it at 5.5L is utter nonsense.