Hyundai plans to roll out entire range of diesel engines in India

With the rising demand for vehicles running on subsidized fuel, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., India’s second largest carmaker, said it could launch its entire range of diesel engines in the country. The business newspaper The Mint quoted Arvind Saxena, Hyundai’s director of marketing and sales: “When we look at the diesel engine plant, we are looking at all kinds of engines we have globally available with us.” The company also plans to roll out the diesel variant of i10, which it sells in Europe, and has a 1.1-liter diesel engine and a mileage of 23 km per liter. But the Indian unit of South Korean auto major Hyundai Motor Co., which imports all diesel engines from Korea, has not yet decided whether it will set up a diesel engine plant in India due to uncertainties regarding the government’s plan to levy excise duty on diesel-run vehicles. “Government’s policy stand on taxing diesel cars is not allowing us take a call on our diesel engine plant,” Saxena explained. “If we set up a plant now and the policy changes tomorrow, our entire strategy will go haywire,” he added. In June, Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy asked Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to increase the tax of Rs170,000-255,000 (US$ 3,076.16 – 4,609.07) on diesel cars to compensate for the subsidy enjoyed by the fuel. (June 28, 2012)