"With the new investment, the companies have agreed to expand research to a wide range of models and to build an optimal platform for Hyundai and Kia's autonomous vehicles," Hyundai said.

Besides, the automaker, which is present in India through its wholly-owned subsidiary Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL),

However, the company was not keen to launch hybrid powertrains as the current GST structure did not offer any relaxation on such models, Puneet Anand, senior general manager and group head (marketing) of HMIL, had said on the sidelines of the launch of the Venue in New Delhi.

However, the company was not keen to launch hybrid powertrains as the current GST structure did not offer any relaxation on such models, Puneet Anand, senior general manager and group head (marketing) of HMIL, had said on the sidelines of the launch of the Venue in New Delhi.

While the average monthly sales of Maruti’s Vitara Brezza is around 14,000 units, Hyundai’s Creta, which is slightly higher priced, sells nearly 10,000.

Venue comes with three engine options — 1 litre turbo and 1.2 litre petrol powertrains besides 1.4 litre diesel engine — and sits below the Creta in terms of price and positioning.

‘Hyundai Leasing’ will offer all of the company’s entire model line-up for leasing with no upfront and maintenance costs, HMIL said in a statement. “The Indian automotive industry is at the cusp of transformation...

'Hyundai Leasing' will offer all of the company's entire model line-up for leasing with no upfront and maintenance costs, HMIL said in a statement.

The company had opened the pre-launch bookings for the model on May 2. “The Day-1 response is a record booking for an SUV, with an average of 84 Venue cars every hour,” Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) National Sales Head Vikas Jain said in a statement.

Hyundai is developing the vehicles under its “Smart EV" platform. These “special purpose vehicles" will be designed and developed specifically for ride-hailing applications, they added.