Hyundai i20 not here on price

For the first time the Korean company is introducing an all-new baby car without putting the price first.  The bottom line on the i20 tiddler is $$14,990 for the three-door ($15,990 for five-door, with automatic a $2000 addition) which puts it up above the top selling Getz that does most of its work as a $12,990 drive-away deal.

The car will be built in Chennai, India, and there will be two petrol engines – a 1.4-litre and a 1.6-litre.  "Without risk, nothing happens. But I think this is not risky, this is a good chance to make people understand our product," says Edward Lee, managing director of Hyundai Australia.

Hyundai has the Getz as a safety net until it dies in the middle of 2011, and can also tap the tiny i10 from India if necessary, but Lee believes the time is right for Hyundai to dump its reputation as a price-is-everything company.

"We don't have to be a cheap brand. We want to give value, not just the price," says Lee.  "We will deliver more value. Price is important, but value is more important."

Lee admits Hyundai cannot match the low-price potential of incoming Chinese brands, and says he is watching Suzuki's successful efforts with its price from $12,490 Alto.

But he is determined not to back down on the brand-building work which is making Hyundai the fastest improver in Australian showrooms.  "I'm very confident we will create another good story through i20. We will challenge in this segment with our brand and product quality."

Lee says the ix35 and i45 are both doing well without Hyundai's signature driveaway pricing and customers are even prepared to wait up to three months for cars.

"The customer database is quite different. This is the first time people want to wait for a Hyundai," he says.  "With i20 I think we will get the same result. We plan to challenge with the brand, not the price."

The i20 is being sold as both a three and five-door hatch, moving into the Hyundai line-up above the Getz and below the i30.  By the end of next year there could be three all-new light-class contenders from Hyundai, with the i10 and another i20-sized car being built in Korea.

But Lee says he will not fix a strategy - or plan introductions for the i10 or the still-secret newcomer - until he sees how the i20 is going.  The initial sales target in Australia is 1000 cars a month, about half the sales rate of the Getz, building over time.