With a sharp uptick in hybrid sales in Australia, a petrol-electric version of the Hyundai Staria would make a lot of sense for the local market. Despite being available overseas, there’s no indication of when we might see it Down Under.
Product manager for Hyundai Australia, Sam Dabestani, told CarExpert the local division acknowledges the Staria Hybrid (including the commercial Load version) would be worthy additions to the Australian lineup, the drivetrain currently isn’t available to our market.
“We’re always looking at what additions or improvements we can make to our product lineups that better meets the needs of our customers – the addition of a hybrid to the Staria lineup would certainly fall under that category,” Mr Dabestani said.
“So if and when that option were made available to us, that is certainly something we would seriously study for introduction to the Australian market.”
Overseas model shown
CarExpert understands the Staria Hybrid and Staria Load Hybrid are exclusive to the South Korean domestic market in left-hand drive, at least initially.
Hyundai Motor Company first detailed the Staria Hybrid in February, around the same time pre-orders opened in the South Korean market.
The 2024 Hyundai Staria Hybrid runs the brand’s 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid system with a 180kW power output – a more powerful version of the drivetrain offered in the Santa Fe and Kia Carnival.
The petrol engine makes 132kW/265Nm on its own, combined with a 54kW/304Nm electric motor. Hyundai quotes the full 180kW system output is on tap at 5500rpm.
Overseas model shown
Fuel economy ranges from 7.6L/100km to 8.0L/100km depending on variant, based on the Korean cycle.
In Korea, the Staria Hybrid will be available in both Tourer and Cargo versions of the large van – the latter is sold in Australia as the Staria Load – as well as the flagship Staria Lounge.
The Tourer – similar to our passenger-spec Staria line-up – will offer the turbo hybrid drivetrain in 9- and 11-seat people mover versions, while the Cargo has just a single spec. The Staria Lounge, meanwhile, offers two trim levels as well as seven- and nine-seat configurations.
Pricing for the Staria Hybrid in Korea starts from 34,330,000 won (A$39,580) for the Cargo. The electrified Tourer is only offered in the higher-grade Modern trim in Korea, and commands a circa-4,000,000 won (A$4611) premium over the equivalent diesel version.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Australia announced running changes for the 2025 model-year Staria and Staria Load in June, headlined by the addition of Bluelink connected services, rain-sensing wipers, and additional USB-C ports.
2025 Staria Load 
2025 Staria 
The new models can be distinguished by their new 2D aluminium badging inside and out, however they lose the active assistance function for their blind-spot monitoring system. Pricing is unchanged for MY25.
As before, the Hyundai Staria is offered with a 200kW/331Nm 3.5L V6 petrol engine with front-wheel drive, or a 130kW/430Nm 2.2L four-cylinder turbo-diesel with all-wheel drive. Both powertrain variants are fitted as standard with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
While the Staria is Australia’s second best-selling people mover, it’s outsold by the related Kia Carnival by eight to one. As of July 31, the Staria has returned 738 registrations for 11.0 per cent share of the mainstream MPV category, compared to the Carnival’s whopping 5605 registration and 83.7 per cent share.
The Carnival recently introduced a single hybrid variant at the top of the range, admittedly with limited supply. Priced from $76,210 plus on-road costs, it’s the most expensive version of the people mover in Australia.
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