It was only a few years ago that customers associated the Hyundai brand with a good price / performance ratio. This put the Koreans - together with their sister brand Kia - in fifth place among the world's largest automakers. The visual appearance was less important. "Today it is exactly the opposite," says Germany Managing Director Markus Schrick, "the design is the number one reason to buy." The new Tuscon, successor to the ix35 and competitor model for the VW Tiguan, Mazda CX-5 and Nissan Qashqai, is ideal for reading.
With the Tuscon, Hyundai started a "pre-sales campaign" in Germany for the first time. "145.000 visitors clicked on the homepage within a month," says Schrick. Over 2.600 customers ordered the SUV without ever sitting in the car, let alone driving it. The Tuscon is on a completely newly developed platform, which is used for the first time in the group. As a second model, it will receive the new Kia Sportage at the end of the year.
SUVs are also solid cornerstones in the portfolio at Hyundai. In the C segment alone, in which the Tuscon drives, the share is 24 percent. Experts estimate the quota in the segment below to be even higher. Only: Hyundai currently has nothing to offer against the top dogs Opel Mokka and Renault Captur. A compact SUV should be on the market in just under two years. And it won't be called ix25. Hyundai now wants to give its sport utility vehicles city names in the American Southwest (Santa Fe, Tuscon) with which the customer combines space, freedom and adventure. But the country is sparsely populated. There is not much choice left. Sedona is occupied by Kia. Taos or El Paso might be an option. We are excited.
The i20 Crossline, which will roll to the dealer in 2016, could serve as a bridge. The small car (Polo class) has a rustic outdoor look and increased ground clearance. Hyundai is also planning its first plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) in Europe in 2016. Internally, you can see the part-time Stromer, which should get an independent body, as an opponent of the Toyota Prius. Hyundai remains open to the topic of fuel cells. Like the ix35, the Tuscon will again have a fuel cell version from 2017.
May powerful engines and racing (participation in the WRC with i20) also be in stark contradiction: Hyundai wants to fill the brand with more heat, as can be heard from Korea. The German Albert Biermann is to help vigorously. The engineer switched to Hyundai in April and was previously deputy head of the development department for BMW M automobiles. Biermann's job is not just to give Hyundai models more sporty steering and driving behavior. His job is also to establish the “N Performance” sub-brand. Under this name - the letter N was taken from Namyang, the seat of the Korean high-performance development center - Hyundai wants to offer particularly dynamic models. There is even talk of a dedicated N-Performance series. The new i30 (Golf class), which will come onto the market in 2018, would be predestined for this. Or the next Veloster. This sports coupé is said to be the farewell gift from design boss Peter Schreyer (formerly Volkswagen). Schreyer turns 64 in two years.
To further reduce CO2 fleet emissions, Hyundai plans to launch its new three-cylinder engines this year. It is a one-liter petrol engine with turbocharging and direct injection. The engine is offered with 100 and 120 hp. It starts with the i20. A van (MPV) in the C segment (Touran / Zafira) has been put on hold. From the development center in Rüsselheim, it is said that you want to wait until the new i30 is on the road and then use its platform. Finally, the successor to the mid-range model i2018 is on the agenda for 40. In all likelihood, it will be based on the Sonata platform used worldwide - and will therefore no longer be called i40 in Europe.
