Hyundai Santro
Hyundai SantroPR handout

Santro has special status in Hyundai India's history. It was the first car that the Korean car-maker launched in India and it helped the car-maker establish in India. Rumours on the return of Santro as a new hatchback cropped up in the beginning of last year. Hyundai has now confirmed the existence of the project by its global R&D team in coordination with the India centre at Hyderabad.

Also read: 2017 Hyundai Grand i10: New features, prices, variants and all you need to know

The new Santro will be launched in India in the second half of 2018 and will be an exclusive model for India, reports ET Auto. The hatchback will essentially replace i10 in the Hyundai India line-up and it will be slotted between Eon and Grand i10. The new Santro is expected to be priced at Rs 4 lakh and will go up against Renault Kwid and Datsun redi-Go.

Multiple reports indicate that the new Santro will retain tallboy design with a contemporary twist. The hatchback will have a younger, sleeker and stylish stance. The project is reportedly internally named AH. The car will be powered by two petrol engines -- 1.1-litre and 1.2-litre.

The original Santro had made its India debut with an MPFI engine at the time of carburettor engines. Hyundai sold 13.6 lakh units of Santro in the domestic market till it was discontinued in the end of 2014. Hyundai Santro clocked nearly 1.9 million units of lifetime sales from both domestic as well as global markets.

In addition to Santro, Hyundai India also plans to launch eight products by 2020, including three new cars, while others will be upgrades and refreshments. The company will soon launch cab aggregator spec Grand i10 and Xcent called Prime. The cars will be priced Rs 25,000-Rs 30,000 cheaper.

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