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Marton Pettendy1 Sept 2014
NEWS

New Hyundai i20 at least a year away

Updated Santa Fe and new Genesis and Sonata imminent, but new i20 is unlikely until 2016
Hyundai says its second-generation i20 is unlikely to go on sale in Australia until at least 2016, as it struggles to establish a business case for the European-sourced version.
Europe's new i20 was revealed last month ahead of its public premiere at the Paris motor show on October 2, but the Asian-market five-door hatch is already in production in India, where it has attracted more than 12,000 orders since sales commenced on August 11.
While the current i20 – Australia's top-selling light car – is imported from India, Hyundai's local distributor says its successor will be sourced from Europe because its specification is more consistent with Australian safety and quality expectations.
"The new i20 is available from India but that's a different car," Hyundai Motor Company Australia COO John Elsworth told motoring.com.au. "The only car that would suit our market comes from Europe."
However, Elsworth said an Australian launch for the new i20 is yet to be confirmed, due to the same exchange rate difficulties that apply to the i10 city-car built also built in Europe.
"We're still working on i20," he said. "It's a little complex because of the production footprint, which is Europe. 
"So it is a little more challenging for us to have a business case that work given how the Aussie dollar interacts with the Euro and that goes to the i10 too. 
"We're still evaluating both of those cars. We showed the i10 to dealers and they're interested, but we're still working on the business case."
Elsworth said the current i20 would continue on sale indefinitely here until Hyundai can source the new model from Turkey.
"We just continue with the current car until we work out how to source European product," he said.
Asked if the new i20 would be seen in Australian showrooms next year, Elsworth said: "I would doubt it".
If Hyundai succeeds in establishing a business case for the i10 and i20, they won't be the first Hyundais imported from Europe to Australia.
Since last year both the i30 Tourer wagon and ix35 Special Edition have been shipped here from the car-maker's Nošovice facility in the Czech Republic. 
The next i20 will form the basis of Hyundai's high-profile World Rally Championship assault, which currently includes the outgoing i20 and Aussie Chris Atkinson, who will spearhead the brand at the Australian WRC round in Coffs Harbour over September 13-14.
It rides on a new platform with a 45mm-longer (2570mm) wheelbase and measures 4035mm long overall. Hyundai says it will deliver class-leading interior space in the European B-segment, in which it has sold almost one million vehicles since 2002.
Designed at its German design centre in Russelsheim and developed specifically for Europe, it will also bring new technology and a new mini-i30 exterior design.
Hyundai says combined front and rear legroom is a class-leading 1892mm, while boot capacity is also claimed to be best-in-class at 326 litres behind the rear seats.
A key new feature that also promotes the sense of space is a first-in-class panoramic sunroof that both tilts and slides fully open, while other new technologies include an integrated rear-view camera and front LED lighting.
Priced from $15,590 plus ORCs, the existing i20 replaced Hyundai's long-running Getz here in July 2010, and will have to do battle with Volkswagen's upgraded Polo, the facelifted Toyota Yaris due in showrooms next month and the all-new Mazda2 due in late October, as well as Honda's new Jazz and the Ford Fiesta.
Specifications for the European i20 are yet to be announced, but in India the new model is powered by a pair of carryover 1.2-litre petrol engines and a 1.4-litre diesel, mated only to a five-speed manual transmission.
India's top-spec i20 comes with 16-inch alloys, dual airbags, anti-lock brakes, reversing camera, parking sensors, climate-control and push-button starting.
While an upgraded Santa Fe is due for imminent release in Australia, by the end of this year Hyundai will also launch the new Genesis luxury sedan and its latest Sonata mid-size sedan, as an effective replacement for the discontinued i45.
Next year there will be an all-new ix35 compact SUV, and facelifts for the i30, i40 and Veloster.
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