SEOUL, KOREA- Hyundai Motor has launched a facelift model "The New Avante" on August 13, with an additional diesel edition included. This is in response to a rise in popularity of diesel-fueled import cars. The Avante Diesel's retail price, in the range of 17.45 and 20.90 million won, is about 2 million won more expensive than the gasoline-engine model. Its fuel efficiency has been improved substantially with the ISG (idle, stop, and go) system that reduces idling when the car is standstill. The diesel-engine edition's mileage is 16.2 kilometers per liter (based on auto-transmission car).
The company has already sold more than 3,500 New Avantes since it began taking pre-orders early this month. A Hyundai Motor official said, "We expect the Avante Diesel to account for about 20 percent of total Avante sales." With the addition of the diesel-engine model, the company may see the resurgence of Avante sale in the second half. For the past seven months this year, the Avante has been sold 52,424 units, down 19.7 percent from the same period last year (65,324), handing over the No. 1 position to the Hyundai Grandeur, a mid-size luxury car.
The Avante's sales dip was partly owning to the popularity of the Kia K3 that sold 31,893 during the seven-month period this year. As the K3 was launched early this year, the sales of other comparable models, Renault Samsung SM3 (-6.5%) and Chevrolet Cruz (-25.4%), shrank by a large margin as well.
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