The current Hyundai Sonata sedan could be the last, with overseas reports suggesting the mid-size sedan is on borrowed time.
Plans for a next-generation Hyundai Sonata have been shelved, with the current eighth-generation model set to become the last in the nameplate’s 37 year history, according to a new overseas report.
Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo reports a source outside the company claims no development has commenced on a replacement for the current Hyundai Sonata sedan.
Looking at the typical lifecycles of Hyundai models, that car should have been expected in 2025, as the current car entering production in 2019 – though Australian deliveries didn’t start until mid-2021.
The future of the Sonata has been open since shortly after the local launch of the current model.
In August 2021 it appeared that a lack of sales success globally for the eighth-generation Sonata meant the model would skip a typical mid-life update and instead have its replacement pulled forward for a 2023 introduction.
At the time, it was suggested the ‘DN9’ generation Sonata would replace the current ‘DN8’ with new bodywork covering carry-over mechanicals. The move is not unlike that of Volkswagen, which runs two generations of passenger car off a single platform (Mk5 and Mk6 Golf, B6 and B7 Passat).
This latest report suggests the playing field has moved yet again, with an unattributed source saying, “Hyundai has announced it will manufacture only EVs starting in 2035, so combustion engine cars are on their way out. There is probably no reason to spend ₩300 billion [Korean won, or $AU333 million] developing a new version now Sonata sales have slowed.”
This would leave Hyundai without a mid-size sedan competitor, a market segment often used as a barometer of success in overseas markets, particularly the USA, where competitor models like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord still sell in significant, albeit declining, numbers.
According to figures provided by The Chosun Ilbo, the Sonata is Hyundai’s longest-running, third best-selling, nameplate. Since its introduction Hyundai has produced 9.17 million Sonatas.
Only the Elantra (14.4 million) – or Avante as it is called in its domestic market, and now i30 Sedan in Australia – and Accent (10.1 million) have out-performed it.
A global appetite for SUVs has seen Hyundai’s model mix move to crossover SUVs, with 47.3 per cent of the company’s mix accounted for by Hyundai’s high-riding portfolio.
A spokesperson for Hyundai Australia was unable to comment on the model’s status overseas, but did confirm to Drive that there were “no plans to discontinue the Sonata in Australia.”
“The Sonata has exceeded the expectations of both our customers and dealers. We see it as a unique offering within its class.”
In Australia, industry sales figures to the end of April 2022 show that the Sonata made up just 266 of 22,845 vehicles reported as sold by the brand.
That means the only models that sold fewer examples were the supply-constrained Ioniq 5 electric car (163 sales year to date), the discontinued iLoad and iMax (78 and 18) and the hydrogen fuel cell Nexo (1).
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