Some of these products will be available worldwide.
Europe is not a priority for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis. While the South Korean automakers have always valued the Asian and North American markets more than the Old continent, their business on that continent is constantly expanding. It has reached the point that the three brands are now considering European models.
Tyrone Johnson, R&D chief for the three European marques, said recently Autocar that “we’ve been so successful [in Europe] that we have been given more to develop our own.” He stated that Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis would all work together to develop more European vehicles to meet the needs of local customers. The R&D departments in Europe could also be responsible for developing more models that meet the needs of local customers, such as products from Hyundai N division.
Although this may not seem surprising for Hyundai or Kia, it is exciting to learn that Genesis will be working on European models. The premium brand just launched the G70 Shooting Brake in the Old continent, where it has received very positive feedback from customers as well as media. The boss of Genesis Europe, Dominique Voesch, even said Autocar that the company is currently considering the model for South Korean markets.
Hyundai-Kia plans to increase the size of the Nurburgring test site as part of its new strategy. The Nurburgring is the best track for durability testing. Each vehicle is tested on this track approximately 10,000 times. Hyundai’s main testing site is in Dudenhofen, Germany, where it owns an Opel test track.
Hyundai-Kia will not be the first to sell a model that was developed in Europe. The Kona N N, i20 N and Elantra N were all created by R&D teams from the Old continent last year. Elantra N was destined for the US. Expect more products from Hyundai N and the automaker to continue following the same formula.