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Rumour: Hyundai Santro, Chevrolet Spark to be phased out

Hyundai Motor India is rumoured to be planning to phase out its popular Santro in November. The company launched the popular hatchback in 1998 and has sold 1.36 million units in India and another 5,35,000 units in export markets such as South Korea, Europe and the US. It is the car that helped Hyundai gain a foothold in the Indian market which was dominated by Maruti Suzuki. It was responsible for the company breaking in profits in a span of just seven months. The Hyundai management had initially aimed at selling 1,00,000 units in five years, but the Santro managed to cross the 1 million sales mark in just seven years.

While Hyundai is still managing to sell, on average, a respectable 2,900 units of the car a month, it is believed that it has plans to free up the manufacturing lines for the production of newer products.

The Chevrolet Spark is another car that could be axed by the end of the year. The car was first launched in India as a Daewoo Matiz. It disappeared from the scene for a while after the Korean company was bought out by General Motors. It was re-launched as the Chevrolet Spark and while the company has sold 1.65 lakh units of the car, it has been a marginal player in the market in recent times, barely managing to sell more than 100 units a month.

Both Hyundai and General Motors are yet to confirm the developments.

Source: Economic Times

 
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