New Kona to be Hyundai’s ‘default small car’

HYUNDAI Australia says the days of the i30 being the go-to small car in the company’s local line-up are over, and that the new-generation Kona – which will be offered in a broader range of models than ever before – is going to fill its place.

This does not mean the i30 hatchback is on its way out, though. Hyundai has confirmed that the i30 hatch, and the soon-to-be-facelifted i30 sedan, will live on in the range, with the Kona simply expected to appeal to more customers because of the way the market has moved.

Chris Saltipidas, Hyundai Australia product planning manager, told media at the recent launch of the second-generation Kona that the demands of local buyers have changed dramatically since the first-gen Kona arrived.

“This is a car that will capitalise on the continued growth of SUVs in the Australian market,” he said. “And we envision that the all-new Kona will soon become the default small car for Hyundai customers. Bolstered by its larger dimensions, the latest tech offerings and choice of both conventional and electrified powertrains, it will become the new default small car for Australian Hyundai customers.

“The existing Kona first launched in 2017, and we sold over 68,000 cars across a range of petrol, electric and high-performance variants,” he said.

“This is a car that has capitalised on the growth of the small SUV market within Australia, a segment that has seen over 60 percent growth since the year Kona was launched. 

“Within that time, Kona consistently achieved over 10 per cent market share every year, even with considerable volume growth of the segment and with new competitors entering all the time,” he said.

And when the executives at the event were asked if that could spell a threat to the future of the i30, which has been reported to be on thin ice in light of this updated Kona range, the idea was quashed by Jonathan Lam, product planning senior manager, who said the brand has “no immediate plans to shrink the i30 line-up for the foreseeable future”. 

The new, second-gen Kona range sees the introduction of hybrid powertrains for the first time, and will continue to be offered with two petrol engine options, and a fully electric version too. The future of the Kona N performance model, which hasn’t proved to be as huge a success story as it maybe should have, remains under a cloud.

Crucially, hybrid will allow the brand to better aim up at rivals such as the Toyota Corolla Cross and GWM Haval Jolion, both of which offer petrol-electric hybrid options.

The hybrid powertrain premium is $4000 over the non-turbo-petrol models, and Mr Saltapidas said the brand has big expectations regarding hybrid take-up, but stated that this year’s sales will not reflect that due to a later arrival of electrified variants.

“By the end of next year, we're hoping that hybrid will be the major volume,” he said, anticipating petrol-electric variants would make up “around 40 to 50 per cent” of Kona sales in Australia.

The most-affordable hybrid-powered Kona small SUV will launch with an enticing entry-level electrified price point of $36,000 before on-road costs, while the higher-specified Kona Premium is a $40,000 + ORC.