Hyundai undecided on UK Accent

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

New Accent not definite for UK yet
All-new small family car due in 2007
Coupe-convertible, estate and MPV to follow

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Hyundai is undecided whether to import the new Accent that was revealed at last week's Geneva Motor Show to the UK.

While the new Accent is currently only available in three- and four-door form, it says that most small family car buyers want five doors.

The decision is further complicated, because Hyundai will launch an all-new five-door car of a similar size in 2007.

That car will be built on the same platform Kia will use for its new small family car, which is to be built in Slovakia at the end of this year. Kia showed a concept version of this car, which is remarkably similar to the production model, at Geneva under the name of Cee'd.

The Hyundai version will be available in mid-2007. Initially, it will be built in Korea, but the company will eventually establish a European production base.

A decision on where to build the factory has still to be taken, but it the Czech Republic appears to be the favourite at the moment.

Hyundai has revealed that a coupe-convertible, an estate and possibly an MPV using the same fundamental parts will eventually follow the five-door model. They will be rolled out over a two-year period.