Veloster Turbo to target Cooper S

Promising up to 50 per cent more power than the standard version of its recently released Veloster, Hyundai’s turbocharged hot hatch has potential MINI Cooper S buyers in its sights.

Speaking at the local launch of the new Veloster, HMCA’s director of marketing, Oliver Mann, told motoring.com.au the high-output hatch will likely attract aspirational buyers who may have never considered the brand.

“The feedback we’ve had is that Veloster Turbo is the car people have always wanted and promised themselves, but never been able to justify on the basis of expense or practicality,” explained Mann. “It’ll appeal to a lot people who already want a coupe...and that will include people in the [hot] hatch segment. So, it’s going to be very interesting.”

Due later this year, Veloster Turbo is also likely to interest those keen on Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ, with pricing expected to be lineball. With Tiburon out of the picture, that will place Veloster Turbo directly against the likes of Volkswagen Golf GTI or Mazda Mazda3 MPS.

“Tiburon is not being directly replaced. Veloster is a little smaller and more affordable, and Genesis is a little larger, so that’s how we’ve moved on from Tiburon. Inevitably, activity in the coupe segment will draw a lot of interest and new buyers into that segment,” surmised Mann.

“I’d probably say that Veloster Turbo is really part two of the Veloster story and Veloster is a little different from other cars in the coupe segment. It’s quite a unique car. Whilst other coupes perhaps will be named as competitors, Veloster is our most differentiating car, and as such I don’t think any of these cars are direct competitors to each other.”

Mann said Hyundai was already negotiating specification details of Veloster Turbo for the local market, but stopped short of revealing just when it will arrive, or at what price.

“The second half of the year is probably as firm as we can be, [but] it might creep into the end of Q3,” Mann said. “The detail, planning and price negotiation on Veloster Turbo with our parent company has yet to be done. So it’s honestly much too early for us to even speculate. We’ll take a close look at where we think the car should sit in the market, and the competitors that need to be considered and we’ll endeavour to come up with something that’s superior [in terms of price].”

The strong demand globally for Veloster Turbo may, in fact, be the only sticking point for its success Down Under, Mann saying the car’s popularity could well work against it.

“It’s got a lot of opportunity in the Australian market, but in the short term it’s not going to be something we can immediately realise through what we predict is quite a tight global supply situation,” he concluded.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site