Hyundai i20 N and i30 N set to return in 2023

The good news is the Hyundai i20 N and i30 N hot hatches will be back on sale in Australia before the end of 2023.

The bad news is the Hyundai Kona N is in run-out and there appear to be no plans to replace it.

Sales of the i20 N were paused in mid-2022, followed by the i30 N in February 2023, as orders for both hot hatches far exceeded the COVID-hit supply capability of their European production sources.

Hyundai Australia is slowly working through its local i20 N and i30 N order banks, but COO John Kett has signalled a plan is being developed for sales of the turbocharged front-wheel drive flyers to resume.

“[The] i20 N and i30 N… [are] still a little bit of a challenge for us on the supply side, so still some work to be done there,” he said.

“We are definitely putting a solution in place and we can talk about that sometime toward the end of the year.

“i20 N and i30 N are important vehicles for our portfolio.

“There are a few constraints we have to work through to get our share of it. It’s a very important part of our business.”

In fact, N and N-Line models account for 29 per cent of Hyundai’s sales in Australia.

The i20 N is built in Turkey and the i30 N in the Czech Republic. Issues such as semi-conductor shortages and global demand have cruelled Australian supplies and extended wait times.

However, the Korean-built Kona N hot compact SUV – launched in Australia only in late 2021 – is in run-out as the new-generation SX2 Kona is introduced.

The official line is that no decision has been made on a new Kona N, but the reality appears to be there is no plan for a successor – at least one powered by an internal combustion engine.

Hyundai Australia product and future business chief Andrew Tuitahi signalled that when asked the situation.

“With anything like that you have to look at the major markets and where the volume is sold.

“If you take into account European emissions targets and North American emissions targets, Europe is trying to hit 90 grams of carbon and a car like Kona N is producing 200 grams-plus [so] it makes it pretty hard for that to make sense.”

It’s scant consolation, but the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol Kona N is the least popular N model.

The emissions issue is also expected to eventually kill off the i20 N and i30 N, at least as petrol-powered models.

But Hyundai has said the former’s 1.6-litre engine will roll on beyond Euro 7 emissions regulations, while the latter’s 2.0-litre engine will be axed and replaced by a 2.5-litre turbo four.

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