Hyundai i10 "extremely unlikely" to come to the U.S.
Contrary to reports the other day, it is almost certain that Hyundai will not be bringing its tiny i10 hatchback to the U.S. market, at least not in its current form. During a media drive for the new Genesis sedan, Hyundai America VP John Krafcik was asked about the i10. He responded that the U.S. branch is always looking at all the models in the Hyundai worldwide portfolio to see what would be suitable for the U.S. market. Krafcik called it "extremely unlikely at this point" that the i10 will come to the US and "that's all I'd like to say about that." He declined to provide any further comment on the matter.
[Source: Hyundai]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
calguy 7:53PM (8/21/2008)
It's always so interesting how terrified auto execs seem whenever a small car is suggested as viable in the US. BUT, a V8 Hyundai seems like a really good idea to them. I get the profit margins are there in the bigger cars with little creativity in execution, but REALLY, when is it going to be clear to anyone but Ford that we actually
LIKE
small cars here???
Reply
Holden Miecranc 8:06AM (8/22/2008)
Or is it that they have actually driven this (and other world cars) and know that they won't sell in the US. You know, kind of like the Astra, which isn't exactly flying off showroom floors, eventhough every moron on autoblog / autobloggreen said 'bring it and I'll buy it'.
Reply
Bill P. 8:56AM (4/23/2009)
I first saw the Opel Astra in Norway, about five years ago. And fell in love with it. Couldn't wait for it to get here. But by the time it did, other cars came along even better than it. Again, GM sleep at the wheel. There are so many interesting and fun small cars in Europe. I think allot of people would be ok with a small car here in the US. Just don't straddle us with cheap econo-boxes. And I'm afraid this Hyundai is one of them. We crave something fun like Smarts, Yaris, XDs, Souls, Fiestas.