Hyundai ups N and N-Line prices, halts i20 N sales

Hyundai Australia has confirmed another price increase is on the way for its hugely popular N and N-Line model portfolio as demand continues to surge, so much so that the Korean brand has stopped taking orders for the 2022 Hyundai i20 N.

The price increases vary from as little as $500 for the Hyundai Sonata N-Line and Hyundai i30 Sedan N-Line, right up to a hefty $2000 for the aforementioned hot hatch that has long been praised for its combination of performance and value.

That appeal has seen wait times now blow out to as long as two years, with Hyundai revealing there have been more than 1600 orders submitted since the i20 N’s launch last September.

From August, the Hyundai i20 N will be priced at $34,990 plus on-road costs – $1500 more than the latest Ford Fiesta ST ($33,490 plus ORCs) but still $3760 less than the Volkswagen Polo GTI ($38,750 plus ORCs).

“As demand continues to strengthen and well exceeds forecasted production through to the end of 2022… to avoid customer disappointment, HMCA will no longer be accepting orders for this car,” a local Hyundai spokesperson said.

“As soon as our production allocation catches up with the order bank, HMCA will start taking orders once again.”

Correspondence between dealers and patiently waiting customers indicates the $2000 price increase will be applied to existing orders not delivered by August 1.

The Hyundai i30 N hatch is the other big loser at the moment, with new customers being faced with the prospect a 12-month wait (or longer), as well as a $1200 price increase for all variants.

That increase applies to the Hyundai i30 Sedan N and Hyundai Kona N small SUV as well, however, both these models command far shorter wait times of around three and seven months respectively.

Given the more readily available production slots, Hyundai is actually encouraging i30 N hatch customers to consider either the Kona N or i30 N Sedan as an alternative if they don’t want to wait as long to take delivery of a new N product.

There’s been no word on delivery times for the tamer N-Line portfolio, however, the entire line-up will be subject to a $500 price increase come August, including the Tucson.

Other Hyundai models set to go up in price include the entry-level Venue city-SUV and the Santa Fe large SUV, both of which will also go up by $500 as Hyundai struggles with rising material and production costs.

“HMCA has been experiencing an unprecedented rise in raw material costs globally, combined with significant inflationary pressure across the total supply chain, which we can no longer absorb in full,” the brand said in a statement.

“N and N Line variants across our range have been impacted by increasing cost of supply, the specialised nature of this product, and exchange rate pressures within the global market.

“Our European sourced models have been impacted further by instability within the region.”

These latest price hikes follow similar $500 increases applied to the majority of the N portfolio back at the start of April, which Hyundai chalked up to increasing shipping and material costs.

Multi-year delivery times and significant price rises are becoming an increasingly common but unwelcome occurrence in the automotive industry this year, as most brands continue to struggle with similar supply chain pressures and inflated production costs.

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