New Hyundai i20 Coupe To Be Launched In 2015

Hyundai is pinning its hopes on the 3-door coupe version of the i20 in an effort to get a foothold in the European subcompact segment.

This is one category where the Koreans have mostly fallen behind the competitionduring the past few years.

All told, the all-new i20 small hatchback accounted for a fifth of all Hyundai sales in Europe last year.

In the first half of this year the i20 has moved 40,661 units, putting it in 12th place in the subcompact car segment, behind the likes of the VW Polo, Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta, Skoda Fabia and even the slow-selling Fiat Punto.

Allan Rushforth, chief operating officer at Hyundai Europe, believes that the automaker now has a chance to turn that around with the launch of the i20 5-door hatchback and 3-door coupe models.

An official sketch, released from the automaker a few days ago, shows a new i20 3-door coupe model that has a more raked rear pillar styling than the hatchback version.

This gives the coupe a smaller, sleeker presence than the 5-door sibling model.

The brand-new Hyundai i20 coupe offers something of a shift in the normal segment procedure, which is where most 3-doors are usually cheaper versions of their 5-door siblings.

Going the sporty coupe route is something that is traditionally done in Europe, though, with the likes of the Opel Astra GTC and the Renault Megane Coupe examples of how things work there.

The next generation i20 hatchback is due to be launched in Europe in November, with the coupe model expected to follow soon after.

Both completely redesigned i20 Hyundai hatchbacks were engineered and developed at the European headquarters of Hyundai Motor Company, just outside Frankfurt, Germany.

Both models, including the i20 coupe and 5-door hatchback will be manufactured at the newly expanded Hyundai production plant in Izmit, Turkey.

Stay tuned for more news on future Hyundai cars!