Hyundai Australia has stopped taking orders for the i30 N hot hatch, as it works to clear a backlog of more than 1600 undelivered cars (at last count).
But rumours of its demise appear to be exaggerated, since the plan is to put the pocket rocket back on sale once the outstanding order bank is more manageable.
“To avoid customer disappointment, HMCA will no longer be accepting orders for i30 N [hatch]. As soon as our i30 N production allocation catches up with the order bank, HMCA will start taking orders once again,” the company told us.
The smaller i20 N hot hatch has also been on a new order freeze since last year, for the same reason as its big brother – Hyundai simply can’t build enough to keep up with demand.
Both the i20 N and i30 N hatch models are sourced from Europe, which is where Hyundai is most constrained.
Stock of the Korea-sourced Kona N and i30 N sedan is much healthier, the company says, meaning buyers may still be able to snag themselves an N model, albeit not in a hatch body type.
Overall Hyundai Australia held around 3000 outstanding orders across its range of N models, as of November 2022. We’re chasing more up-to-date data.
As we reported last December, Hyundai is not expected to bother with a second-generation i30 N hatch, because tightening emissions fleet-average caps in Europe make investing in new combustion vehicles a challenge.
The i30 N sedan and Kona N are expected to enter second generations, however, while an Ioniq 5 N electric car is also on the way.
That said, the current i30 N hatch will soldier on for a few years yet, focused on markets including Australia where it remains an obvious sales hit and perception-changer.
Australians in the market for a hot hatch are fast running out of options.
As reported this week, demand for the new Honda Civic Type R is so intense that the wait list is nudging two years.
Toyota has confirmed there will be just 500 examples of the GR Corolla allocated to the Australian market this year, and says it’s working to ensure what limited supply there is will be snapped up by enthusiasts instead of scalpers.
Over at Volkswagen, deliveries of the Golf R 20 Years special edition were late last year pushed back to avoid extending delays for buyers waiting for the regular Golf R to touch down.
Also contributing to the Australian hot hatch shortage is the impending death of the Renault Megane RS, and the recent death of the Ford Fiesta ST and Focus ST.
The Megane RS Ultime will arrive Down Under mid-year, and spells the end not only for the much-loved hot Megane, but the Renault Sport brand, as Alpine takes over.
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