Hyundai Veloster killed off
Unique coupe-hatch in run-out as Australia shifts focus to N and N Line model rolloutThe Hyundai Veloster has been discontinued in Australia, with the company citing the need to shift its focus to its high-performance N and sporty N Line models.
This will come as a blow to fans of Hyundai’s quirky crossover coupe-hatch, which entered its second generation just over a year ago and has provided the Korean brand with a sleek and sporty alternative to run-of-the-mill small cars that dominate local roads.
With its classification as a sports car, the Veloster has also been one of the top-selling models in the category over the past eight years, racking up almost 20,000 sales in Australia (see our table below) and standing as the outright top-selling sports car in 2012, the year it launched here.
That said, Veloster sales have fallen from that peak of 4107 units in 2012 to just 260 last year, with this year’s tally (to the end of November) at 586.
A spokesman for Hyundai Australia said the car-maker quietly commenced its run-out for the Veloster late in September, and that “we still have stock available which should last us into quarter two, 2021”.
He said the reason behind the decision to kill off the Veloster was due to the company “shifting focus to our rapidly expanding N and N Line model range” which will see eight new models launching in 2021.
This rollout will begin with a facelifted and DCT auto-equipped version of the Hyundai i30 N – which we’ve driven in prototype form – and the all-new Hyundai i30 Sedan N based on the bigger new US Elantra.
Hyundai’s next full-blown N model is likely to be the Kona N, while the Hyundai i30 Fastback N could be back in contention now that the Veloster N is officially ruled out – after never really looking likely seeing that it’s currently only built in left-hand drive.
Still a unique proposition with its asymmetric 2+1-door body design, the Hyundai Veloster is priced from $29,780 plus on-road costs for the 2.0-litre four-cylinder (110kW/180Nm) entry model, up to $42,410 plus ORCs for the force-fed 1.6-litre Turbo Premium flagship (150kW/265Nm).
Hyundai Veloster sales in Australia:
2012 – 4107
2013 – 3928
2014 – 3405
2015 – 2685
2016 – 2232
2017 – 1935
2018 – 427
2019 – 260
2020 – 586 (to the end of November)
Total: 19,565
Source: VFACTS
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