Hyundai is sticking with conventional hatchbacks in Europe.
Michael Cole, CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe, informed Autocar, “For now, [the] i10, i20, i30 are all nonetheless in our plan, even for the following technology”.
Cole didn’t specify when new generations of those vehicles would seem, however Hyundai followers are seemingly hoping a regenerated i30 is on the horizon.
Selections relating to the alternative for the i30 are in all probability sophisticated by the EU’s proposed ban on new petrol and diesel automotive gross sales after 2035. Designed with Europe in thoughts, the i30’s hatch, wagon and fastback physique types aren’t fashionable in different giant markets, equivalent to South Korea, China, and the US.
Hyundai’s European CEO did say the corporate was contemplating new EVs to take a seat beneath the Kona EV, and such a automotive is likely to be accessible “in additional conventional physique types, equivalent to hatchback”.
He did warning, nonetheless, this was “our considering, reasonably than essentially in our long-term plan now, however for the European market, we’ve to be serious about that”.
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i30
Launched again in 2016, the i30 hatchback is getting on a bit and has lived properly past the standard five-year lifecycle Hyundai provides its mainstream automobiles.
Regardless of its age, the i30 stays fashionable in Australia with 21,166 offered right here in 2022. That quantity, although, is down 17.2 per cent from earlier yr, and is assisted by the actual fact Hyundai has rebranded the newer Elantra sedan because the i30 Sedan for the native market.
In 2022, the i30 lineup was the preferred in Hyundai Australia’s vary, accounting for nearly 29 per cent gross sales, forward of the Tucson (17,870), Kona (11,538), Venue (6440), and Santa Fe (4595).
Australian i30 hatches and sedans are produced in South Korea, aside from the N hatchback, that are made within the Czech Republic.
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i20
The i20, alternatively, is a more recent automobile. The present technology was unveiled in Europe in 2020, and arrived in Australia a yr later.
As Australia-bound i20 fashions are sourced from Europe, the automotive is presently provided within the scorching N guise with a 150kW/275Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine. The i20 can also be produced in India.
The European model of the smaller i10 was additionally launched in 2020. In-built Turkey, it differs in wheelbase, size, and specification from the similar-looking mannequin produced in India.
Hyundai’s dedication to metropolis and small hatches will come as welcome information to Europeans who nonetheless want conventional hatchbacks to crossovers.
Some European automakers, equivalent to Ford, are abandoning basic physique types fully, with the Fiesta set to conclude manufacturing this yr, and the Focus on account of journey off into the sundown in 2025.
Others, equivalent to Peugeot and Citroen, have retreated from the smallest, and most inexpensive finish of the market. The 2 French marques ended their three way partnership with Toyota, which yielded two generations of the Peugeot 107/108, Citroen C1, and Toyota Aygo triplets.
After the dissolution of the Franco-Japanese collaboration, Toyota took over the manufacturing unit in Czechia, and launched the crossover-like Aygo X.
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