With the new car industry envisioned to carry on shifting to SUVs and CUVs, Hyundai took an ax — once again — to its passenger automobile line-up.
When the 2023 models get started rolling into showrooms in the months ahead, numerous common nameplates will be lacking from the South Korean carmaker’s line-up, which include the subcompact Accent sedan, the compact Veloster N hatchback and the two remaining versions of the first Ioniq compact model, Hyundai declared.
The automaker earlier trimmed its passenger car line-up, amid other items slicing the far more mainstream version of the Veloster, as perfectly as the all-electric variation of the original Ioniq. For now, at the very least, Hyundai will keep its two best-providing passenger automobiles, the compact Elantra and midsize Sonata — although there have been studies from South Korea suggesting they, way too, could be at chance.
“Like some of our rivals, we have made a decision to keep in the passenger automobile organization, and some of our greatest-executing motor vehicles, like Elantra or like Sonata, are even now performing really nicely,” Jose Munoz, the Hyundai Motor Co. main functioning officer and CEO of Hyundai Motor The usa, reported through an function at the company’s Michigan R&D heart this week.
A vanishing act
Automakers, in general, have been slicing back again on passenger vehicles as U.S. motorists carry on migrating to utility motor vehicles, as well as pickups and other light-weight trucks. And that craze is anticipated to go on by way of at the very least 2026, John Murphy, the direct auto analyst with Financial institution of The usa Securities, reported throughout a presentation to the Automotive Push Association on Thursday.
Ford eradicated all but its Mustang, although Common Motors has only a handful of sedans left in its Chevrolet and Cadillac brand names.
Asian automakers, like Hyundai and sibling Kia, as very well as Toyota, Nissan and Honda, hoped to choose up some of the sedan organization dropped by the domestics. But with the continuing sector change, Hyundai seemingly concluded it had to more pare again. And June profits quantities aid that choice. Sonata product sales ended up down 64% yr-above-calendar year, Elantra putting up a 34% drop — while a lack of stock contributed to the weak functionality.
Could Elantra, Sonata be up coming?
Some observers consider even people two mainstay sedans could be at danger. In Could, South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper documented the Hyundai Sonata could be pared from the line-up in the following calendar year or two. The publication also quoted unnamed resources professing sibling brand Kia would drop both equally the Stinger and K5 sedans.
Officers with the two models denied the Chosun Ilbo report. But each Kia and Hyundai continue on to shift product directions. But that changeover doesn’t indicate walking away completely from passenger cars and trucks. If anything, Hyundai this week unveiled the first comprehensive pictures of its Ioniq 6 product, an all-electric, Sonata-sized sedan some believe will at some point exchange the conventionally driven product.
What is very clear is that Hyundai is betting on equally battery-electric cars and crossovers shifting forward. Its CUV line-up has grown considerably all through the very last couple of years, with the Venue positioned to select up smaller-automobile buyers who may formerly have opted for the Accent. At the prime aspect of the crossover relatives is the huge Palisade, now one of the brand’s best-sellers.
An electrified long term
Hyundai is also in the process of growing its line-up of choice-fueled models. A big share of its 2023 designs will be hybridized– some with conventional HEV drivetrains, some with plug-in possibilities, some with the two alternatives. And the Kona crossover will be available with each fuel and all-electrical drivelines.
But Hyundai’s major press will arrive with the rollout of new Ioniq battery-electric styles. That started off past calendar year with the start of the Ioniq 5 crossover — which was named Globe Vehicle of the Yr for the duration of a ceremony at the New York International Automobile Clearly show in April. The automaker has now confirmed the following two Ioniq designs will be the Ioniq 6 sedan and the Palisade-sized Ioniq 7 crossover.
A amount of other BEVs sharing the same fundamental E-GMP system are in the will work. All told, Hyundai expects to have 11 battery-electric styles in its line-up ahead of the conclusion of the 10 years, although not all will carry the Ioniq badge. Jointly with the Kia and Genesis models, the parent Hyundai Motor Group expects to be providing 3 million BEVs every year by 2030.
