HYUNDAI Motor Firm Australia (HMCA) has instructed sellers to cease taking orders for the favored i30 hatchback because it transitions all manufacturing of the mannequin to the Nošovice plant within the Czech Republic which additionally manufactures the i30 N sizzling hatch.
Alternate charges and delivery prices will possible imply the tip of entry-level i30 hatch variants and specification modifications will embody a European-market delicate hybrid drivetrain, new color palette and sure expertise upgrades similar to Hyundai’s Bluelink connectivity suite.
Talking at a media briefing in Melbourne final week, HMCA chief working officer John Kett mentioned manufacturing of the i30 hatch would quickly finish in Korea, which had been supplying the mannequin completely to the Australian marketplace for a while.
GoAuto understands that Hyundai has made an exception to its typical five-year passenger automotive product lifecycle for the strong-selling i30 hatch, which is able to obtain a second facelift to maintain it comparatively contemporary till its battery-electric automobile (BEV) successor is prepared for launch across the center of this decade.
“We’re the one remaining nation that takes the i30 hatch out of Korea, so the preliminary plan was all the time to finish manufacturing in Korea and begin producing in Europe by Q1, perhaps April,” mentioned Mr Kett.
“The issue is that April is moved to, say, June/July however the deadline for closing out the manufacturing unit in Korea hasn’t modified. So we’ll cease producing the i30 in Korea in December and cease promoting it as in retail supply in March.
“Sadly, we have got to tug orders now as a result of we have now now bought during to the primary quarter of subsequent yr. So the bulletin shall be going out simply to let individuals in our community know you could’t take any extra orders till most likely someplace near Could/June/July subsequent yr.”
The 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine with 48-volt delicate hybrid system develops 117kW and 253Nm, making it much less highly effective than the present entry-level 2.0-litre naturally aspirated unit however with nearly as a lot torque because the 150kW/265Nm 1.6-litre turbo of N-Line variants.
In Europe, this engine is obtainable with a clutch-by-wire handbook transmission however Australia will get the seven-speed dual-clutch automated. Unlikely for this market is the 95kW/172Nm three-cylinder engine choice provided in Europe.
Requested whether or not the shift to European sourcing would influence costs, Mr Kett admitted that the alternate price has deteriorated.
“Relying on the alternate (price), whether or not we will entry the identical worth factors or not might be difficult,” he mentioned.
“So we’re simply going by that course of in the meanwhile; once we first deliberate it alternate charges have been a bit totally different.”
Euro-delivered i30 hatches can be found in three extra colors than the six at present provided in Australia, together with Darkish Knight, Silky Bronze, Sundown Crimson, Engine Crimson, Stellar Blue, Platinum Silver and Olivine Gray.
Solely Polar White and Phantom Black are acquainted to the Korean-sourced vehicles, the remainder being distinctive to vehicles produced on the Czech plant.
Mr Kett mentioned that throughout the i30 hatch hiatus, clients can be inspired to contemplate the Venue mild SUV, Kona small SUV and i30 sedan, all of which have worth overlaps with numerous i30 hatch variants.
He added that there was the potential to crank up provide for these fashions for Australia in an effort to make up for the absence of i30 hatch quantity.
The introduction of hybrid i30 sedans early subsequent yr might additionally show in style.
Mixed gross sales of the i30 hatch and sedan put the nameplate on the high of Hyundai’s tree in Australia to the tip of August this yr, with 14,844 deliveries. Carefully following these small-segment passenger vehicles is the Tucson medium SUV with 14,495 bought, up 28.7 per cent year-on-year in comparison with a 4.1 per cent slide for the i30.
