Hyundai's Bayon-based sub-Creta SUV lands this festive season, and it needs to undercut the Venue
Hyundai India MD and CEO Tarun Garg has confirmed on the Q1 FY27 earnings call that the company will launch a new midsize SUV during the 2026 festive season. Codenamed Bc4i and built on the Bayon crossover's platform, it slots below the Creta, with a compact electric SUV to follow within the fiscal.
What was announced
On the Q1 FY27 earnings call, Hyundai Motor India MD and CEO Tarun Garg confirmed two new SUVs for the current fiscal. The first, a midsize SUV codenamed Bc4i, arrives during the 2026 festive season. The second, a compact electric SUV on a new architecture using Exide batteries, follows within FY27. The next-generation Creta is scheduled separately for 2027.
A Europe-built Bayon shell only works in India if Hyundai prices it like a Venue rival, not a baby Creta.
The Bc4i is built on the platform of the Bayon crossover Hyundai sells overseas. It measures roughly 4.18 metres in length, positioning it below the current Creta and above the Venue in Hyundai's own line-up. Camouflaged prototypes have been spotted testing in India and abroad. Visible cues include a crossover-style stance, roof rails, dual-tone alloy wheels, a split-lamp headlight layout, a rising windowline and all-wheel disc brakes.
Powertrain plans, per Autocar India's reporting of the announcement, centre on petrol engines paired with an underbody-mounted CNG kit, a packaging choice that preserves boot space and directly targets the Tata Punch CNG, Maruti Fronx CNG and Nissan Magnite. The interior has not been photographed yet, though Hyundai is expected to carry over familiar switchgear and infotainment from the Venue and Creta family. No pricing, variant list or booking date has been shared. The compact electric SUV that follows sits on a separate new platform and will use Exide-sourced batteries, marking Hyundai's first India EV project with a domestic cell partner.
The Car Jury verdict
Hyundai is doing the sensible thing: keep the Creta cash cow untouched until 2027, and plug the 4.18-metre gap between the Venue and Creta with a Bayon-based body that already exists. A petrol plus factory-fitted underbody CNG combination is the correct read of the market. The Tata Punch, Kia Sonet and Nissan Magnite all live here, and buyers want a taller Venue without paying Creta money. As Faisal Khan of PowerDrift notes about Hyundai product decisions, "this is not something they had thought about when designing this car back when it was launched", which is exactly the risk here: a Europe-first platform stretched to fit an Indian price bracket. If Hyundai lands this between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 13 lakh ex-showroom, it works. Any higher and it eats the Venue and stares down its own Creta waiting list. Wait for pricing.
