N and N-Line variants now account for more than a quarter of all Hyundai sales in Australia
The popularity of Hyundai Australia’s N and N-Line models has surged in recent times, with the hot and warm offerings now accounting for 27 cent of the Korean brand’s total sales so far in 2022.
Of the 22,845 new Hyundai cars delivered between January and April, 6168 of them wore N or N-Line badges, with the more affordable and luxury-focused N-Line cars predictably contributing the bulk of the sales (5006).
That’s not to say the full-fat N performance models aren’t in hot demand; Hyundai sales data shows the N portfolio accounts for five per cent of the brand’s running tally, with 1162 deliveries across the first four months of the year and another 2540 vehicles on back-order.
On face value, the freshly-launched Hyundai i30 Sedan N looks to be the best-selling N model so far this year with 358 deliveries chalked up – more than any other model – but it’s actually the i30 N hatch that’s proving the most popular with 890 outstanding orders compared to the sedan’s 330.
“This is all down to supply,” Hyundai Australia public relations and CSR senior manager Guido Schenken? told carsales.
“We are getting better supply for i30 Sedan N, which is in line with our production expectations for this year.”
For reference, the pint-size Hyundai i20 N is the next most popular model in this respect with 750 vehicles on back-order compared to the 370 Hyundai Kona Ns and 200 i30 Fastback N Limited Editions.
How exactly these figures translate into wait times for customers remains unclear, with Schenken reluctant to nominate estimated delivery times for the different models due to varying specification levels, body colours, transmission choices and delivery locations, ie: Sydney versus Perth.
However, we can extrapolate a very rough indication of N-car wait times by dividing the number of back-orders by the average monthly sales of each model, revealing a waiting lists stretching almost four months for the i30 Sedan N, 8.5 months for the i20 N, 11 months for the i30 N hatch and a long 12-month for the Kona N.
This of course is a rough calculation and doesn’t account for the various factors Schenken mentioned above nor any potential production output changes, but a few of the dealers we contacted confirmed our maths to be within the ballpark.
Despite the long waiting periods for certain models, however, Schenken hinted that more N products were on their way here later this year – not least the limited-run Hyundai i30 N Drive-N Limited Edition.
“We have received a huge amount of interest for the Drive-N Limited Edition model, both via our dealer network and customers who are contacting us directly,” he said.
“The N range has been great for our brand. It has attracted new customers who previously would not have considered a Hyundai, as well as increasing our sales mix of more premium models… stay tuned as there are sure to be some exciting announcements later this year.”
We anticipate one of those announcements to be the long-awaited confirmation and possible reveal of the Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, which will be N Performance’s first electrified product and a rival for the supercar-slaying Kia EV6 GT due in Australia late this year.
Hyundai’s performance division has been hard at work developing the all-electric crossover with multiple sightings by industry spy photographers – especially around the Nurburgring – as well as a cameo appearance at 2022 Targa Tasmania.
While the car featured at Australia’s premier tarmac rally was actually a Genesis GV60 Performance, the two models share the same e-GMP architecture, similar proportions and even a broadly similar silhouette, but the GV60 ups the ante over the regular IONIQ 5 with a much more powerful powertrain (350kW/700Nm) – perfect for an aggro electric ‘corner rascal’.
Predictably, Hyundai played down the notion at the time, but the dots are there to be linked given the aforementioned similarities. For reference, the GV60 will be competing at the 2023 edition of Targa Tasmania.
One thing we’re unlikely to see going forward though is the emergence of hybrid N cars.
That’s the latest word from Hyundai Australia’s senior manager of future mobility and government relations, Scott Nargar, who spoke with carsales at the Hyundai media track day in Perth earlier this week.
“There’s probably more talk about performance zero-emission models than there is about hybridisation,” he said.
“It [hybrid] is a stepping-stone technology; it does a great job right now, but especially in Europe and other places where emissions regulations are cutting in – and the ban of internal combustion cuts in from, in some places, 2025, 2030, 2032, 2035 – hybrids don’t count, they don’t work; they don’t meet the requirement for a zero-emission vehicle.
“Some countries will allow plug-in hybrids but it’s really that focus on zero-emission, complete zero-emission to reduce emissions now.”
But while Hyundai N-cars look set to sidestep hybrid tech, hydrogen is still very much on the cards with Nargar revealing the Korean car-maker hasn’t mothballed its hydrogen R&D department after all, but rather “expanded and split” it to allow for even more growth and specialisation within the various areas and applications – including performance cars.
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Keyword: Surging demand yields long waits for hot Hyundai N cars