Confirmed: Hero hot hatches to stay petrol-powered

Hyundai will launch successors to the popular i30 N and i20 N hot hatches with petrol engines, despite fears the brand would become electric focused.

Back in July, Joon Park, who is the head of Hyundai N admitted that the decision to axe the i20 N and i30 N hatchbacks in several markets was a “disaster” for him and he doesn’t want the N brand to focus only on electric models like the Ioniq 5 N and Ioniq 6 N.

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“We are not limiting ourselves into EV,” Park told Car. “But this is some kind of tendency after we launched Ioniq 5 N, because Ioniq 5 N was a huge message for the entire car industry. And a lot of people thought and think that Hyundai N is going towards only for EV. It’s not true.

“The discontinuation of i20 and i30 N was a disaster for me. But it takes time to have a new one. So yeah, we are not focusing on EV only.”

READ MORE: Hyundai i30 N Track Test

Now Hyundai Australia’s director of marketing and product, Andrew Tuitahi has confirmed there are plans afoot and replacements for the i20 N and i30 N hatchbacks are on the way.

“There are successors to existing ICE models that will retain an ICE powertrain, just can’t share too much,” Tuitahi said.

Asked if it would be purely an internal combustion engine (ICE) or a hybrid, Tuitahi left the door open.

“ICE or hybrid, or both,” he said.

While he wouldn’t reveal exact models, he did confirm that there will be multiple models in various segments.

“I can’t confirm today, but there will be a spectrum small through medium,” he said.

Australia is one of the most popular markets for Hyundai N models, with the company regularly attracting hundreds of owners to its official track days.