Hyundai may phase out Eon this year

NEW DELHI : Hyundai Motor India Ltd is likely to discontinue the Eon small car by the end of December, as the car isn’t compliant with coming safety and emission norms, and make way for a new model, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The local unit of the South Korean auto maker has already informed some of its parts vendors about plans to suspend production of the Eon, Hyundai’s most affordable offering, the two people cited above told Mint on condition of anonymity.

“It is confirmed that the Eon will be discontinued and some suppliers have also been told a few months ago that the product will be available for just a year,” said one of the people cited above.

“This is a very prudent decision by a successful company like Hyundai since Eon will not be to stand the new crash norms. So, they are replacing it with a better product which will adhere to all the new norms,” the person quoted above said.

The new safety norms that will kick in from October 2019 will require all new passenger vehicles to undergo a mandatory crash test at a specified speed before they are brought to market. India is seeking to make its cars safe to shed the tag of having the highest number of road fatalities in the world.

India will also enforce Bharat Stage VI emission norms from April 2020 as it tries to control rampant pollution in its major cities.

Discontinuing Eon will offer legroom to Hyundai to allocate manufacturing capacity for new models at its factory complex near Chennai.

The auto maker would introduce new vehicles in the compact segment this year and the next and the company may use the platform for the Eon to develop these vehicles, one of the people quoted above said.