Photo: Hyundai
According to a recent report, Hyundai is set to drop the i nomenclature due to poor European and American response. Be that as it may, the i30 hatchback is expected to soldier on as is.
Remember the Hyundai ix35? The thing with the ix35 is that it is the perfect case in point of a naming system gone wrong. The first generation of Hyundai’s compact crossover was called Tucson. Outside South Korea and North America, the second generation was known as the ix35. But for the current generation, Hyundai had dropped ix35 and settled for Tucson.
This kind of nonsense applies to other products manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer. The i30 compact hatchback, for example, is called Elantra GT in the United States. The recently discontinued Veracruz, on the other hand, was sold in some European countries as the ix55. More than that, the Sonata is sold as the i40 in Europe. Indeed, this sort of confusion has to stop. As per a report from Go Auto, the Australian publication claims that the mystifying i nomenclature will be dropped in the nearest of futures.
Speaking to Go Auto, Hyundai Australia chief operation officer Scott Grant has revealed the following: “What we have been told is the i series, which has been successful in Australia and which researches very well here with consumers and did a great job for us, is not going to be adopted globally. It hasn’t been successful in Europe, Americans don’t like it and they’re big markets dictating direction so globally it’s unlikely the i concept will survive.”
If everything goes according to plan, then only the i30 will continue to be called so once the third generation of the compact hatchback will make its debut at the 2016 Paris Motor Show in October. “The next series of i30 will be called i30 again, but almost all other models – we’re seeing Tucson from ix35, Sonata versus i40 – I don’t think it will exist,” added Grant.
Whatever the future holds for Hyundai, the truth of the matter is that sister company Kia has done a much better job with its naming system. Instead of i20, Kia has the Rio. Instead of i40, Kia has the Optima. And guess what? The Rio and Optima are called so in the United States of America and Europe. That’s what the peeps at Hyundai want to achieve by dropping the i and, for what it’s worth, better late than never is perfectly alright by me.
This kind of nonsense applies to other products manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer. The i30 compact hatchback, for example, is called Elantra GT in the United States. The recently discontinued Veracruz, on the other hand, was sold in some European countries as the ix55. More than that, the Sonata is sold as the i40 in Europe. Indeed, this sort of confusion has to stop. As per a report from Go Auto, the Australian publication claims that the mystifying i nomenclature will be dropped in the nearest of futures.
Speaking to Go Auto, Hyundai Australia chief operation officer Scott Grant has revealed the following: “What we have been told is the i series, which has been successful in Australia and which researches very well here with consumers and did a great job for us, is not going to be adopted globally. It hasn’t been successful in Europe, Americans don’t like it and they’re big markets dictating direction so globally it’s unlikely the i concept will survive.”
If everything goes according to plan, then only the i30 will continue to be called so once the third generation of the compact hatchback will make its debut at the 2016 Paris Motor Show in October. “The next series of i30 will be called i30 again, but almost all other models – we’re seeing Tucson from ix35, Sonata versus i40 – I don’t think it will exist,” added Grant.
Whatever the future holds for Hyundai, the truth of the matter is that sister company Kia has done a much better job with its naming system. Instead of i20, Kia has the Rio. Instead of i40, Kia has the Optima. And guess what? The Rio and Optima are called so in the United States of America and Europe. That’s what the peeps at Hyundai want to achieve by dropping the i and, for what it’s worth, better late than never is perfectly alright by me.
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