Hyundai wants to boost Aussie small car choice

Hyundai is determined to again become a big player in small cars in Australia with the i20 and i30 hatchbacks.

Currently Hyundai only sells the high-performance i20 N in Australia, while the i30 has recently been cut back to only a high-spec European-sourced N-Line mild hybrid alongside the i30 N.

But new Hyundai Australia chief Don Romano has declared his determination to claim back sales lost in the small car hatchback segments as he seeks to reverse the Korean auto giant’s local fortunes.

He just doesn’t know yet how he’s going to do it.

“We have to figure that out; I don’t have a solution to that other than we are going to continue to bring out the N-Lines on the i30 and i20 and i30 N,” he said.

“Honestly, I have to spend some time understanding the business case for all of those.

“But taking that [wider small car model line] away is one of reasons our sales began to decline.”

Hyundai sold more than 100,000 cars per annum in Australia as recently as 2016. But in 2024 it slipped to 71,664 sales, its lowest tally (apart from COVID-impacted 2020) since 2009.

A range of i20 mini cars was sold in Australia between 2010 and 2015 and it was a sales success against the Mazda2 and Toyota Yaris.

However, the lineup was axed when production for the incoming second generation was shifted from India to Turkey.

The Turkish-sourced N version of the third-generation i20 went on sale in Australia in 2021.

The i30 was Hyundai’s biggest-selling individual model every year between 2009 and 2022. The end of Korean production in 2023 also meant the end of the cheapest powertrains and sourcing of an updated version from the more expensive Czech Republic in Europe.

As a result, sales are down 30.4 per cent year on year to the end of April.

Hyundai has attempted to retain buyers by swinging them to SUVs such as the Venue and Kona, but the strategy has not covered the shortfall.

It has also just launched the tiny Inster EV in Australia, but pricing for that starts just under $40,000 and big sales are not expected.

Romano’s quest is complicated by the age of the current i30, which first appeared in 2016 and is close to retirement. The i30 is expected to be directly replaced but the fate of the newer i20 is less clear.

Back in 2023, carsales reported European Hyundai executives were backing next-generation i30 and i20 as well as the tiny i10, which never sold in Australia.

Another issue for Romano is that small hatchbacks are popular in Australia and Europe but not in the USA and China, where sedans are preferred.

“It’s hard because hatchback isn’t popular throughout the world,” Romano explained. “In fact even in New Zealand I called the distributor up and asked, ‘How many do you want if we can get there?’ And he said ‘None, they don’t sell over here’.

“They don’t sell there, they don’t sell in the US, they don’t sell in Mexico but they do sell in Europe. So I have to get it from Europe.

“But I just need more than seven weeks to understand the financial impact of shipping that far, of the dollar exchange and see if I can make a case for it.”

Romano’s only course of action may be just trying to get a better price on the i30 N-Line. Currently, the two-model range starts at $36,000 plus on-road costs.

In the case of the i20, it will be attempting to secure at least an N-Line specification to bring the price down. In the UK, the i20 is sold as a 1.0-litre triple-cylinder turbo-petrol.

“A level two [specification] as opposed to a level 4.5 to 5. It’s a little out of range for a lot of people,” Romano said.

“The market is strong still in those segments, but we’ll see. I have work to do in those areas. I believe in it.

“So the question is what can I do with N-Line, what can I do with other configurations if we try and bring something in.

“Maybe it’s not an N but the next level down, but still provide greater access to more Australians financially.”

Romano said his focus was on improving the value of the i20 and i30 and he was not considering other small cars from the wider Hyundai world.

“No, just those two.”

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