Hyundai India, the largest car exporter and the second largest car manufacturer in India is expected to replace its small car Santro with a new car Kia Ray. The new car is a product by Kia, the sister concern carmaker of Hyundai which has presence in international auto markets.
While the Korean automaker is evaluating the possibility of replacing the Santro, the new car Kia Ray will feature the ‘tall boy’ design as sported by the Santro. The Kia Ray is currently being sold in the Korean auto market and is equipped with a 998cc petrol engine. It is however expected that the engine will be upgraded to a 1.2 liter Kappa engine for the Indian car market.
According to industry experts, the automaker Kia is also interested in entering the Indian auto market on its own and this may prove to be a conflict with Hyundai’s plans to introduce the Kia Ray in India. Also, Kia is likely to charge Hyundai a significant amount of royalty to use a Hyundai badge for the Ray.