Hyundai is sticking with conventional hatchbacks in Europe.
Michael Cole, CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe, instructed Autocar, “For now, [the] i10, i20, i30 are all nonetheless in our plan, even for the subsequent technology”.
Cole didn’t specify when new generations of those automobiles would seem, however Hyundai followers are seemingly hoping a regenerated i30 is on the horizon.
Selections concerning the alternative for the i30 are most likely difficult by the EU’s proposed ban on new petrol and diesel automobile gross sales after 2035. Designed with Europe in thoughts, the i30’s hatch, wagon and fastback physique types are usually not standard in different giant markets, resembling 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 automobile could be obtainable “in additional conventional physique types, resembling hatchback”.
He did warning, nonetheless, this was “our considering, moderately than essentially in our long-term plan now, however for the European market, we now have to be excited about that”.
-
i30
Launched again in 2016, the i30 hatchback is getting on a bit and has lived properly past the same old five-year lifecycle Hyundai provides its mainstream autos.
Regardless of its age, the i30 stays standard in Australia with 21,166 offered right here in 2022. That quantity, although, is down 17.2 per cent from earlier 12 months, 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, apart from the N hatchback, that are made within the Czech Republic.
-
i20
The i20, then again, is a more recent automobile. The present technology was unveiled in Europe in 2020, and arrived in Australia a 12 months later.
As Australia-bound i20 fashions are sourced from Europe, the automobile is at the moment provided within the sizzling N guise with a 150kW/275Nm 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine. The i20 can 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, resembling Ford, are abandoning basic physique types utterly, with the Fiesta set to conclude manufacturing this 12 months, and the Focus as a consequence of trip off into the sundown in 2025.
Others, resembling 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 facility in Czechia, and launched the crossover-like Aygo X.
MORE: All the things Hyundai i20
MORE: All the things Hyundai i30