Hyundai i10 to be used as a taxi in India soon

Hyundai's small hatchback, the i10, will soon be used in the taxi market in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bengaluru. The manufacturer is readying the hatchback to be introduced in the taxi segment as a black and yellow city-taxi.

The i10 will come as an addition to the carmaker's Santro that is being used as a taxi for quite some time now. The Santro has aged well and is nearing its life-cycle, the probable reason that the automaker plans to offer another option with their other popular hatchback- the i10. Taxi drivers and cab owners had switched to the old Santro which had then replaced the Premier Padmini. Hopefully, if appropriately priced, the i10 will also be accepted quickly like the Santro. Even the Mumbai Taxi Union feels that it would be a good option for taxi drivers to migrate to the i10, if the cab owners find it affordable. 

Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice president for sales and marketing at Hyundai Motor India, said, "Hyundai Santro is the most preferred car in the taxi segment on account of low cost of acquisition and low cost of operation. To build on this segment further, Hyundai would be introducing i10 - as a taxi option - so as to provide taxi operators with another option." 

Hyundai will make some changes to the i10 before they introduce it to the taxi fleet. The specially introduced variant will miss the power steering and AC in order to curb the price of the model. The manufacturer will also provide a CNG-fitted model which will be retro-fitted but not company-fitted. Hyundai has made a good move which might prove beneficial for them especially at a time when 7,843 permits for taxi are expected to be offered additionally in Mumbai itself in the coming six months.

Source: ET