Starting next year, India is set to witness a Korean rivalry, between Hyundai and Kia, which is working out plans for an India foray. At this years New Delhi Auto Expo, the South Korean stablemates faced many questions about each other. Hyundai is India's second-largest carmaker. Since Hyundai has a controlling stake in Kia, questions about cannibalisation were expected. What if Hyundai and Kia undercut each other and ended up helping rivals such as Maruti Suzuki, Honda and Toyota? The answers were cliched; each said it would have separate factories, offices and dealer networks.
Yet, both have a common legacy, even joint platforms. The Kia Picanto hatchback is a Hyundai Grand i10 in another form. So too are the Kia Rio for Hyundai i20, Cerato for Elantra, Shortage for Tucson and Sorrento for Santa Fe.
By Sumant Banerji