Photo: Hyundai
When Hyundai first unveiled the new-generation i20, some people sort of laughed at the South Korean manufacturer's intention to step up its game in the highly competitive European B-segment. If we're to be frank here, that's your typical brand snobbery we can't quite fathom in this day and age.
We've seen the little bugger in the flesh at the 2014 Paris Motor Show and make no mistakes - this new i20 is as radical a design and fit & finish departure for Hyundai as the second generation i30 compact was when it was launched approximately three years ago.
However, the Asian carmaker doesn't plan to rest on its newly found laurels just yet. Speaking to Thomas Buerkle, the design boss of Hyundai Europe, AutomotiveNews is reporting the automaker considers to add a new body style to the 2015 i20 - an estate (Wagon), that is.
The aforementioned publication says that while an established car brand's subcompact lineup entry is accounting for about 22 percent of that carmaker's sales in Europe, the i20 makes up 18 percent of the South Korean company's sales volume in Europe. So it's no wonder why Hyundai wants to broaden the appeal of the new i20 with a Wagon variant.
In addition to this family-oriented body variant, the Hyundai official was asked whether the new i20 is going to spawn a crossover derivate. Unfortunately, Buerkle didn't say yes or no, declining to comment altogether, which leaves the possibility to see one in the near future at 50/50. That Intrado Concept car from the Geneva Auto Show makes us wonder if Hyundai is actually tinkering on such a model...
However, the Asian carmaker doesn't plan to rest on its newly found laurels just yet. Speaking to Thomas Buerkle, the design boss of Hyundai Europe, AutomotiveNews is reporting the automaker considers to add a new body style to the 2015 i20 - an estate (Wagon), that is.
The aforementioned publication says that while an established car brand's subcompact lineup entry is accounting for about 22 percent of that carmaker's sales in Europe, the i20 makes up 18 percent of the South Korean company's sales volume in Europe. So it's no wonder why Hyundai wants to broaden the appeal of the new i20 with a Wagon variant.
In addition to this family-oriented body variant, the Hyundai official was asked whether the new i20 is going to spawn a crossover derivate. Unfortunately, Buerkle didn't say yes or no, declining to comment altogether, which leaves the possibility to see one in the near future at 50/50. That Intrado Concept car from the Geneva Auto Show makes us wonder if Hyundai is actually tinkering on such a model...
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