Korean outlet Chosun reports from an inside Hyundai source that no next-generation Hyundai Sonata 2023 is in the works.
Accodring to opinions in Wapcar.my, Theoretically, the development of such a model should be in full swing, with each Sonata generation typically having a life cycle of about five years.
The current model entered production in 2019, though it doesn’t arrive here until 2021.
Insiders have told Chosun it’s an open secret within the company that the Sonata will be discontinued. production, its assembly lines need to be converted to produce more electricity than vehicles.
Hyundai has a mid-size electric sedan in the works, the Ioniq 6, which is expected to launch this year. It shares its dedicated Electric E-GMP platform with the upcoming Ioniq 5 Grand Crossover and Ioniq 7. Grand Crossover.
An insider told Chosun that Electric Sonata is a possibility but not a priority. They cannot rule out an electric Sonata, but they are prioritizing the development of a compact electric vehicle over a less common midsize car, said the insider.
The Sonata is set to receive the update in 2023, which an earlier report from South Korea said will be important as the current generation is not as well received in its home market as previous generations. Korea’s Auto Post stores announced last year that such a redesign would feature a new exterior styling but convertible mechanics.
Last year, Sonata was the sixth best-selling vehicle in its home market. However, as recently as 2015, it was Korea’s best-selling car.
While SUVs are becoming increasingly popular there, as in virtually every global market, the larger Grandeur sedan will still dominate sales in South Korea in 2021.
Sonata has long been one of the best-selling vehicles in Korea’s particularly popular new car market, where Hyundai and Kia hold more than two-thirds of the market.
This is also the brand’s longest-running nameplate, debuting in 1985 on a top-spec version of the rear-wheel drive Stellar.
The first front-wheel drive generation appeared here in 1989, and overall Hyundai sold 9.17 million Sonats worldwide during its lifetime. According to Chosun, this figure is only behind Avante/Elantra (14.4 million) and Accent (10.10 million).
Despite coming and going from Australia, the Grandeur nameplate is almost as old as the Sonata, launched in 1986.
Hyundai can’t quit Sonata because it’s trying to hit multiple markets with competing needs. The bold 2009 redesign – sold here as the i45 – gave the Sonata its best-ever sales in the US, but it received mixed reviews in the traditionally reserved Korean market.
A cautious restructuring was introduced in 2014 to appease Korean buyers, but US sales were no longer growing as fast.
A major mid-cycle update was introduced in 2017 with sportier styling before the current model was introduced in 2019. Yet again, its styling was too radical. for many Korean buyers.
Hyundai can’t count on US sales either, as the entire midsize sedan segment is on the decline.
Buick, Ford, Mazda and Volkswagen recently withdrew from the segment in the US, while Sonata sales fell below 100,000 units in 2019 for the first time since 2003.
The brand’s sales also fell steadily. in China for several years. Originally slated for a local launch in late 2019, the Sonata will offer the base 2.5-liter naturally aspirated petrol engine and the 1.6-liter turbocharged petrol engine.
Instead, it arrives in mid-2021 in a single, highly specified N Line model powered by a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. 4,444 Even so, Hyundai sold 266 units at the end of April, placing it ahead of the Volkswagen Passat (195) if below the Mazda 6 (491) and Skoda Octavia (556).
