Will Hyundai make a Sonata n?

Korean customers reportedly aren't fans of the current Hyundai Sonata's bold design, forcing Hyundai to scrap an upcoming facelift and fast-track a brand-new model for 2023.

Just two months into its tenure in Australian showrooms, Hyundai has reportedly placed an end date on the current generation of its 2021 Hyundai Sonata mid-size sedan – fast-tracking a successor to 2023, and abandoning plans for a mid-life facelift for the current model.

Korean website Auto Post claims slowing sales and negative buyer reaction to the current-generation Sonata’s styling in its home market has forced Hyundai to call time on the current car and accelerate development of a next-generation model, due to launch in 2023.

The decision – acknowledged by the Korean brand in an internal bulletin, according to Auto Post – has seen work on a mid-life facelift for the current Sonata shelved. The update would likely have reached showrooms in 2022, given the typical six- to seven-year life cycle of Hyundai's models.

All-new styling will be the focus of the next-generation Sonata (set to be codenamed ‘DN9’), opting for a more conservative appearance than that of the edgier ‘DN8’ car offered today – which the website reports hasn’t been well received in South Korea, with sales slumping behind its Kia K5 (nee Optima) twin under the skin, and the larger Hyundai Grandeur sedan.

Above and throughout: 2021 Hyundai Sonata N Line.

Despite a new body, the 2023 Sonata will retain its predecessor’s front-wheel-drive 'N3' platform and range of ‘SmartStream’ petrol engines – both of which have since spread across the Hyundai and Kia model line-ups, and aren’t due for replacement for a number of years.

New technology features could be added, according to the publication, including an augmented-reality head-up display, semi-autonomous highway driving aids, an enlarged 12.3-inch infotainment screen, and scrolling indicators.

It's reported Hyundai hopes the styling overhaul will provide a much-needed boost to Sonata sales in South Korea, which have seen the model fall from second place on the sales charts in 2019, to sixth place in 2020, and 15th in July 2021 (recording 3712 sales).

The lattermost result places it far behind its twin under the skin, the fifth-placed Kia K5 (formerly known in Australia as the Optima), and its four-door sedan competition from within the Hyundai range, the seventh-placed Hyundai Grandeur (not sold in Australia).

Auto Post reports Hyundai’s upcoming Ioniq 6 electric sedan (due in late 2022) will be built alongside the Sonata at the Korean brand’s Asan plant – though the car industry’s shift towards electric vehicles, combined with slowing Sonata sales, will see the zero-emissions Ioniq receive production priority.

Australian buyers got their first taste of the current-generation Sonata in June 2021 – two years behind South Korea – with the introduction of a sole variant, the performance-focused, turbocharged N Line.

VFACTS sales figures report 137 Sonatas as sold in Australia in July 2021, placing it fourth in the 'medium sedan below $60,000' segment – albeit one comprising only seven vehicles, and led by the Toyota Camry, which accounts for 62.2 per cent of sales.

A Hyundai Australia spokesperson couldn’t comment on the Auto Post report, though if the publication’s sources prove valid, expect to see the first 2023 Hyundai Sonata prototypes hit Korean streets within nine to 12 months.

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.

Read more about Alex Misoyannis

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