Hyundai Sonata and i40 to merge

One of the most storied names in Hyundai’s Australian history could be axed … again.

The Sonata mid-size sedan that first went on sale in Australia in 1989, was renamed i45 in 2010, went off-sale in 2013 and returned in a seventh generation in 2015, is the model that looks set to disappear.

To be technically accurate, the Sonata is expected to merge with the i40 in the second half of 2019, when an update rolls out.

With sales of medium-sized passenger cars tanking, Hyundai Australia hardly needs two nameplates in the segment. And it looks like the i40 badge will be the one that survives.

Currently the Sonata sells only as a sedan and the i40 predominantly as a wagon. While their drivetrains differ, their pricing crosses over between $40,000 and $50,000. Between them this year, they have found slightly less than 1500 Australian homes to the end of October.

“The i40 and Sonata will more than likely come together as the one model because you are talking about sedan and wagon,” explained Hyundai Australia chief operating officer Scott Grant.

“The alignment doesn’t come together until the middle or third quarter of next year.”

Grant admitted a Hyundai naming convention debate that stretches far beyond Australia will influence the final call on the aligned mid-sizer’s name.

“Europe likes the ‘i’ nomenclature and America likes the name structure so we just have to figure that out,” admitted Grant.

While speaking cautiously, he was clear how Hyundai Australia sees the debate.

“The ‘i’ series was very important in a period where we grew quite rapidly -- the i30, i20 and so forth -- and I think that resonated at the time.

“For us probably the ‘i’ still has some value.”

Expand that philosophy and could something like the Elantra small car become an i30 sedan?

“We would love to see that from a HMCA [Hyundai Australia] point of view but this is where we plug into a global product planning process,” said Grant.

“While the products are available to us they are produced separately with different markets in mind and they are named separately for those different markets.

“The hatch market does very well in Europe and Australia, but the USA and Korea are more sedan markets, so how to blend those and get one name for everyone is the most important thing.”

The Australian division has fought and lost on the naming convention previously, preferring to stick with ix35 rather than swap back to Tucson for its medium SUV.

“Headquarters said ‘we are going to have one global name for this car — get over it’. That’s OK, we got on with life. It wasn’t the end of the world, we moved on.”

One naming change that is occurring now is the swap to N Line badging for i30 SR and SR Premium 1.6-litre turbo-petrol versions of the popular i30 compact hatch.

N Line adds the i30 N body package, seats and steering wheel to the car, while retaining the 150kW/265Nm drivetrain.

A facelifted Elantra compact sedan will also be launching soon, headlined by a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol model that will be renamed Sport from SR Turbo.

In 2019 Hyundai will launch the i30 N Fastback early in the new year, with the Kona EV due by quarter two and the second-generation Veloster in quarter three.

The N version of the kooky four-door hatch remains a left-hand drive proposition only, although the Australian outpost continues its campaign to get the steering wheel swapped over.

Meanwhile, the relaunch of the Genesis luxury brand with the mid-size G70 and large G80 sedans continues to blow out and has now been pushed back to the second quarter of 2019.

What’s new from Hyundai in 2019?
i30 N Fastback — Q1
Kona EV — Q1/2
Genesis G70/G80 — Q2
Veloster — Q3
Sonata/i40 merge – Q3