Tucson returns, ix35 dumped

One of Hyundai’s most successful models will get a new-old name this year. The ix35 compact SUV will be renamed Tucson when the current generation is replaced by an all-new model later this year.

Initially scheduled for unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show, the new vehicle that will sport the Tucson badge is expected to be unveiled in Europe next week.

It will go on sale here in the Australian spring and will adopt the name globally, says Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA) executives.

Hyundai first debuted the Tucson nameplate Down Under in 2000 in the vehicle that pre-dated ix35.

The first ix35 arrived in 2010 and almost since its arrival has been among HMCA’s most successful models. In 2014 Aussies registered almost 18,000 ix35s. The model’s share of the strongly growing Small SUV segment was market leading at over 22 per cent. Only the i30 heads the ix35 in terms of Hyundai’s own volumes.

HMCA telegraphed the decision with its return to Sonata branding for its new medium car — previously badged i45. Although the i designation will continue to be used on some models, specifically those designed for the European market, in future all global models will adopt what HMCA terms “traditional” names.

Sold in burgeoning markets like China and a hit in the USA, the small Hyundai SUV is very much in that category.

HMCA marketing chief Oliver Mann told motoring.com.au the decision reflected the position of the small SUV as a key global model for Hyundai. He said he did not anticipate the name change would impact negatively on the vehicle of the brand.

“A few years ago I would have been more concerned about the name change,” he stated.

“The [Hyundai] brand now takes the lead and the model [name] is secondary,” Mann said.

Hyundai’s larger SUV eschewed an alphanumeric designation and has remained Santa Fe through its lifecycle. The company’s Detroit motor show ute concept also wore a US-centric moniker, Santa Cruz.

When quizzed on a name for the long-rumoured sub-Tucson SUV, Mann joked: “There’s plenty of [US] cities left to choose from”.

The Tucson and Sonata name changes comes at a time when the Australian arm of Hyundai’s partner company Kia flagged potential changes to its model names. Ex-HMCA sales boss and now Kia Australia COO, Damien Meredith has called for the company to simplify its naming policy.