Hyundai Veloster: Focus on N kills quirky coupe

Hyundai’s quirkiest car is dead in Australia.

The company has confirmed the Veloster won’t carry on through 2021, as it switches to focus on selling its growing range of N and N Line cars in Australia.

Hyundai says it started running out the Veloster late in the third quarter of 2020, and has stock to last into the middle of 2021.

The latest Hyundai Veloster only landed in Australia in the third quarter of 2019. Unlike the i30 on which it’s based it features a lower coupe-style roofline and quirky 2+1 door layout, with two doors on the passenger side and only one coupe-style door on the driver’s side.

Hyundai has sold 586 examples of the Veloster to date in 2020, and 846 since this generation’s introduction.

Although it’s available with the same 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine as the updated i30 N Line, the warm Veloster isn’t badged N Line. The hot Veloster N isn’t available in Australia.

The Veloster joins the i30 Fastback N on the list of short-lived niche body styles offered by Hyundai in Australia.

With the Veloster gone, Hyundai Australia will focus on growing its burgeoning N Line and N brands for keen drivers.

It plans to launch eight new N and N Line products in 2021, led by the updated i30 N and all-new i20 N hatchbacks.

The Kona range will gain an N Line option, as will the new Tucson. Also set to touch down are the Sonata N Line and i30 N sedans, while the Kona N remains unconfirmed but remains a likely addition to the Australian range.

MORE: Hyundai Veloster news, reviews, comparisons and videos MORE: Everything Hyundai