Pour one for the Sonata since it’s expected to join the great parking lot in the sky. Korean newspaper
Chosun
says the automaker is set to discontinue the nameplate as it focuses on fast-selling crossovers and electric vehicles.
First launched in 1985, the Sonata has become the longest continuous nameplate in Korea. Nine million units have been sold worldwide since, but that hasn’t stopped Hyundai from planning to axe it after this generation.
According to the report, it takes Hyundai between four to six years to come up with an all-new version (refreshes are done every two to three). However, a source at the automaker says development on the all-new model, due in 2025, has been suspended.
A refresh of the current Sonata, due out in 2023, will be its last.
The company insider continues that it’s an open secret at Hyundai that they will discontinue the Sonata, and use the assembly line in Asan, South Chuncheong Province to produce EVs. The lines will be converted to manufacture the Ioniq 6 EV—a mid-sized sedan built off the E-GMP platform shared with the award-winning Ioniq 5 EV.
This year alone,
Hyundai stopped producing the Sonata and the Grandeur sedans for a month
due to oversupply and slow sales.
Hyundai has sold 9.17 million Sonatas all in all, making it their third best-selling nameplate after the Elantra (14.4 million) and Accent (10.10 million). It also used to be the most exported car in Korea, but shipments have declined since 2019. Sales of the latest Sonata released in 2019 reached only 440,000 over the last three years compared to 1 million or more of previous models.
Consumers appear to favor SUVs now, with a whopping 47.3 percent of Hyundai’s sales last year being SUVs.
Keyword: It's End Of The Line For The Hyundai Sonata