Hyundai eyes off the prizes in Geneva

The Geneva motor show marked the worldwide debut of Hyundai's new mid-size wagon, the i40.

One of the better examples of Hyundai's Fluidic Sculpture design school, the i40 is actively under consideration for Australia, as a wagon alternative for mid-size car buyers who prefer the looks or the added utility over what the i45 sedan has to offer.

Attending the motor show was Hyundai Australia's Director of Marketing, Oliver Mann, who was happy to discuss the prospects for the car to be sold here.

"It's something we're looking at, at the moment," he told the Carsales Network. "We're looking at the business case. It's very much a car designed for Europe and we're evaluating whether it can work in Australia, as a complement to the i45..."

Mann doesn't believe the i40 is likely to steal sales from the i45 -- or vice versa. The business case parameters he outlined tend to reflect that.

"The business case we're looking at is more about pricing, [sales] volume, margin, exchange rate... what do we think we can [use to] build a business case to sell the car in Australia."

So provided the numbers add up for the mid-size wagon, it looks like a good chance we'll see it here. The same can't be said for two other production cars on the Hyundai stand: the ix20 and the ix55. Known in America, its biggest selling market, as the Veracruz, the ix55 is a Murano-style medium SUV that is sold in limited numbers in left-hand drive European markets -- hence its presence on the stand in Geneva.

By contrast, the ix20 is a small, crossover SUV in the style of Mitsubishi's ASX and built on the i20 platform, although Mann doesn't see it as a rival to the Mitsubishi.

"The ix20 is actually on an i20 platform, so it's a size smaller and wouldn't be an actual competitor to the Mitsubishi... it's designed around 1.2, 1.4 and 1.6-litre engines. As such -- at this point -- we don't think that the car represents a business opportunity for us in Australia.

"It's more of a baby MPV than an SUV concept -- and that's not something we think actually represents any significant volume opportunity in Australia."

While the ix20 just wouldn't sell in Australia, Mann explained that the problem for the ix55 (AKA Veracruz) is different again.

"Fundamentally, we weren't offered that vehicle... in right-hand drive," he said. "It's not sold in the UK either, for that reason."

Like the company's Genesis model, the ix55/Veracruz will have to wait for a new generation model that may or may not be engineered for right-hand drive. Even assuming that stumbling block has to be overcome, but given the respectable sales numbers for Murano, Territory and Kluger, the Hyundai model is arguably a strong contender in the medium SUV segment. But Mann's next words won't inspire hope in those who enjoy ownership of the smaller Santa Fe, but are finding their needs are stretching that model's packaging constraints.

"There's certainly nothing on the horizon I can talk about," concluded Mann.

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