Hyundai to launch a mass-market electric SUV soon in India, local production in focus for affordable pricing

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. is planning to launch a mass-market electric SUV soon in the country, which will be targeting the Tata Punch EV. The upcoming electric Hyundai micro SUV has already been spotted in India in its test mule guise. Upon launch, it will join the automaker's existing electric cars in the Indian market, which include the Ioniq 5 and Creta EV. Interestingly, Hyundai's subsidiary Kia has already launched the Syros EV in India. Now, Hyundai's upcoming sub-four-meter electric SUV, which is internally called the HE1i, is expected to share its platform and core components with the Kia Syros EV, following the group's familiar badge-sharing strategy.

PTI has reported that the South Korean auto major on Wednesday said that it will soon launch the micro SUV in the Indian market, which will be built on a dedicated EV platform. Expected to launch in late 2026, possibly in the fourth quarter, the upcoming electric SUV will be built locally at Hyundai's Sriperumbudur facility in Tamil Nadu. It will be underpinned by a platform derived from the E-GMP (K) architecture, similar to the global Hyundai Inster.

Meanwhile, the automaker is also preparing its sales and service network ahead of the launch of this electric SUV. Besides that, the auto OEM is reportedly training its dealer workforce to be EV-ready. The company is aiming to expand its EV-ready sales and service network to 820 touchpoints and 650 workshops by the end of FY27. It has stated that the company plans to train an additional over 7,000 sales personnel and more than 5,000 service personnel for EV sales, maintenance and repair by the end of FY27. Hyundai has reportedly trained over 10,000 sales personnel already to support customers through their electric mobility journey. The automaker currently has over 2,600 trained dealership service personnel available for EV maintenance and repair across HMIL EV service touchpoints.

Speaking on this, Tarun Garg, MD & CEO at HMIL, said, “By expanding our network of EV chargers, EV-ready sales and service touchpoints, investing in specialised infrastructure and systematically training our dealership teams, we aim to make the transition to electric mobility convenient, dependable and rewarding."

Check out Upcoming EV Cars in India.