Hyundai Motor India has begun work on an all-new SUV going to hit the roads in the next 24 to 30 months from the company’s newly acquired General Motors facility located in Talegaon, on the outskirts of Pune, according to a report of Autocar India.

The report further stated that this new SUV is internally codenamed Ni1i and will be placed above the Alcazar but below the Tucson in the company’s portfolio. Furthermore, this new SUV will be the first Hyundai model for India to come with a petrol-hybrid powertrain.

What to expect from the upcoming Hyundai SUV?

Ni1i will be targeted as a spacious three-row offering from the Korean brand, aimed squarely at the XUV700 and the Safari, stated Autocar India quoting sources.  It is expected to be slightly longer than the Tucson, which measures 4,630mm in length and this new entrant might be based on the Tucson LWB sold in China, which is 4,680mm long, providing generous cabin space, especially in the third row.

This is expected that Hyundai will kick off its petrol-hybrid innings in India with this SUV. While powertrain details are not yet known, the Tucson in international markets comes with a 1.6 litre petrol hybrid setup. Hyundai might add this hybrid setup to its existing 1.5 litre Naturally Aspirated petrol engine to keep costs in line.

After its launch, this new model will challenge Maruti Suzuki’s upcoming C-segment SUV (Codenamed: Y17). It will also compete with the segment leader, Mahindra XUV700 and Tata Safari. This new SUV will be among the first models to roll out from the Talegaon plant and the first units expected to role out by 2027.

Meanwhile, the share of hybrid vehicles is continuously rising in the Indian market and the share of hybrid vehicles rose to 89,000 units, accounting for 2.1% of the 4.23 million units in the Indian passenger vehicle market. 

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