Hybrid hot hatches coming? Hyundai exec confirms hybrid car power for next-gen Hyundai i30 N and siblings, plus more high-performance electric cars in the works

Hyundai’s top brass has hinted at the imminent electrification of its performance N division, with a clear direction towards hybrid hot hatches and cheaper EVs.

Both Joon Park (Hyundai Vice President and Head of N) and Manfred Harrer (Executive Vice President and Head of the Performance Development Tech Unit) have told journalists what to expect from N in the future following the launch of the Hyundai Ioniq 6 N electric car.

While Joon Park teased the idea to UK outlet Car, Manfred Harrer told CarsGuide and select Australian media more directly.

“Already in development are next-generation ICE (internal combustion engine) and hybrids for N to serve our customers,” Harrer said in a roundtable interview after the launch of the Ioniq 6 N.

“We’ll definitely be bringing the next generation of these cars to the road.”

Harrer said the changing emissions laws around the world, especially in Europe, mean the brand cannot continue building petrol-only performance cars.

Cars like the Hyundai i30 N and smaller i20 N hot hatches as well as the i30 Sedan N (or Elantra N overseas) and Kona N have waved the flag for the brand for some time, taking old-school performance philosophy to the brand’s modern passenger cars.

But as Hyundai moves towards electrification - see: the impressive Ioniq 5 N and 6 N - the focus shifts and efficiency becomes a larger consideration. 

Harrer says not only will there be small hybrid models from N to follow the i30 N and i20 N (“definitely one of them has a hybrid, yes”), but also more affordable electric performance cars. The Ioniq 5 N costs six figures in Australia and the Ioniq 6 N is almost certain to follow.

“It's a little bit of a challenge right now with all the emissions regulations you see,” Harrer said.

“Maybe not in Australia so much, but you know, we have a lot of emissions regulations changes in front of us in Europe, with the European 7 regulations, but also in a very similar time frame in the US with the tier four. 

“We are updating the engines right now. We are preparing the engines. We are working on dedicated strategies to bring performance and hybrid together.

“This is one of our main tasks right now in the performance team here in Namyang - to work on the next generation ICE-hybrid cross.

“And as I said, the EV takes a little bit longer, but we definitely need an affordable performance EV as well. Maybe it takes a little bit longer, but it's also in an advanced engineering phase.

“We know with the halo effect and the upper-end of the MSRP, we need more products on the other [end of] the scale. 

“But we are investigating, right now, other more affordable EV performance solutions on 400-volt as well.”

When asked if plug-in hybrid could be a consideration for performance models rather than standard hybrid, Harrer said weight is the key issue.

“You know, our roots and heritage is for sure we are offering both technologies. But I believe for a performance car, on an ICE base, the hybrid is the better solution. I'm a strong believer of that.

“The plug-in hybrid, yeah, you have a higher power output of the battery. But it also comes with the weight. And you know, we talk about i20, i30, or Elantra and so on… I believe the hybrid choice is the better one for such kind.”

But petrol-only models aren’t entirely on the chopping block yet. Harrer said markets like America will still get ICE cars, which opens the door for next-gen N cars to come to Australia powered entirely by petrol.

Stay tuned.