The head of public relations for Hyundai Australia has rejected recent rumours that both the upcoming second-generation Genesis Coupe and the brand's uniquely styled Veloster are at risk of being axed.
Speaking to CarAdvice at this weekend’s World Rally Championship (WRC) Rally Australia event in Coffs Harbour, Hyundai Australia public relations general manager Bill Thomas said future plans for the next-generation Genesis Coupe are “concrete” while suggestions of axing Veloster are simply “incorrect”.
“It’s [Genesis Coupe] probably about two years away,” Thomas said.
“That’s a car that … we will definitely take,” the local PR chief said reconfirming comments made by his predecessor back in 2011.
Asked if there was any weight behind recent rumours that the rear-wheel-drive Genesis Coupe could be cut from the South Korean car maker’s line-up, Thomas said: “No”.
“Not that we’ve heard," he said.
“I think the idea of doing a Genesis Coupe is as concrete as these things ever are.”
Blaming continued development for the sporty two-door’s delays, Thomas couldn’t confirm how far into the development process the new model was or give an accurate time frame to its launch. He did, however, stress that: “it’s definitely not something that we can say is being axed”.
“I mean, there’s a story going around that Veloster was going to be axed. And I think the quote actually was that, ‘a decision hasn’t been made, yet’.
“Now I don’t know what the source was but as far as we’re concerned, there hasn’t been any announcement one way or the other.
“To say that the car [Veloster] has been discontinued is incorrect.”
Other than the unveiling of the Hyundai HND-9 concept at the 2013 Seoul motor show, details on the next-gen Genesis Coupe – previously anticipated for a 2015 Australian arrival – remain lean. The Hyundai Veloster on the other hand, at least locally, continues to challenge the Toyota 86 as Australia’s top-selling sports car.
Available with either a 204kW/373Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder or a 260kW/400Nm 3.8-litre V6, the current-generation Genesis Coupe debuted in Korea in 2008 before going on sale in the US the following year.
