Important Car News Over The Past Week: Hyundai, Kia And Renault Made Headlines

From a new facelifted model and booking announcements to important global safety results, the past week brought plenty of noteworthy developments in the automotive world. Hyundai grabbed attention with the launch of the facelifted version of a popular sedan, while MG opened bookings for its upcoming flagship SUV. Meanwhile, Renault unveiled an exciting new concept SUV previewing a future product for India, and Jetour achieved a notable safety milestone.

So if you missed out on these big milestones and want to take a closer look, then here’s a quick roundup of this week’s top car news you should know about.

2026 Hyundai Verna Launch

Hyundai launched the facelifted Verna for the 2026 model year at a starting price of Rs 10.98 lakh (ex-showroom). The sedan is now offered in six broad trims with the carmaker’s new HX nomenclature. While the overall design remains familiar, the update brings subtle styling tweaks, additional features and improved safety equipment.

MG Majestor Bookings Open

MG Motor has opened bookings for its upcoming flagship SUV, the MG Majestor. The full-size SUV is expected to arrive in showrooms from April 2026, with deliveries likely to begin in May 2026. Limited early customers will also benefit from MG’s special scheme.

For more details about the Majestor, check out our unveiling report of the SUV.

Jetour T2 Scores 5-Star Safety Rating

The India-bound Jetour T2 has secured a 5-star safety rating in the latest crash tests conducted by ASEAN NCAP, scoring an overall 86.50 points under the 2021–2025 testing protocol. The rugged off-road SUV performed strongly across key evaluation categories, including Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Safety Assist and Motorcyclist Safety. The Jetour T2 is expected to arrive in India later this year and will be the first model from Jetour under the JSW Motor partnership.

Hyundai Venue Crosses 1 Lakh Bookings; Gets New Variant

Hyundai announced that the Venue has crossed the 1 lakh bookings milestone in India. Alongside this achievement, the carmaker has also expanded the SUV’s lineup with the launch of a new HX8 Diesel AT variant, positioned between the HX5 and the top-spec HX10 trims, to offer a more value-for-money option for buyers who want an automatic diesel Venue without opting for the range-topping model.

2026 Kia Sonet Gets New Variants

Kia has updated the Kia Sonet lineup with new turbo-petrol and diesel variants, making automatic transmission options more accessible to buyers. With this update, the diesel automatic is now available from the lower HTE(O) variant onwards, while the turbo-petrol DCT option has also been introduced in more affordable trims like the HTK (O).

The update also introduces a new exterior colour option, while the SUV otherwise continues with the same feature list, safety equipment and engine options as before.

Renault Bridger Concept Unveiled

Renault has unveiled the Bridger Concept, previewing an upcoming subcompact SUV that will sit below the Duster in its lineup. Designed in India, the rugged concept showcases a boxy, off-road-inspired design with muscular proportions, large wheels and a tailgate-mounted spare wheel for that traditional SUV look. It is expected to come with Renault’s 1-litre turbo-petrol engine, which we have already seen on the higher variants of the Kiger.

As you can conclude, this week was full of exciting news, including some new names to catch your attention. Which news piece appealed to you the most? Let us know in the comments section. Also, follow CarDekho as there is a lot more awaited action in the coming weeks.