AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)03/27 Report--

On March 27, Hyundai officially released the official map of the new Sonata model, which is expected to debut at the Seoul Motor Show in South Korea from March 30 to April 9 this year, or in early 2024.

From the new car official map, the new car in the appearance and interior decoration are relatively great changes. The appearance of the new car uses a new design language and provides ordinary version and N Line version for consumers to choose from, making it younger and more fashionable as a whole. Specifically, the front face of the new car uses a large trapezoidal intake grille, and the front grille and the front bumper form an integrated design effect, resulting in a higher degree of recognition. The two sides of the new car are equipped with split headlamp groups, and the upper daily running lights use penetrating LED light source, which makes the whole more design sense. another big change of the new car is to move the modern car logo to the front of the engine cover. Compared with the ordinary version, the N Line version is more sporty. The main difference is that the inner structure of the front grille is adjusted and the details are blackened. As a distinction, the N Line logo is added on the right side of the car.

On the side of the body, the new car adopts a sedan-style design style, and the roof is pressed down from the front row to the back. the outline and size of the body are not much different from the current model, but the new car has added decorations in the front wing position for better visual effect. In the rear part, the new car has also redesigned the rear part, and the change is more obvious. The new car has rich lines, with a new styling through taillight group, and the bumper also adopts a new styling style with outstanding visual layouts. On the exhaust layout, the N Line version uses a total of four bilateral exhaust layouts, which is more sporty.

In the interior part, the new car is also designed in a new style, which is equipped with a 12.3-inch dashboard and a 12.3-inch central control screen, as well as a three-spoke multi-function direction with a new style. the car also uses a new gear shift mechanism and a penetrating air conditioning outlet layout to enhance the vehicle's sense of science and technology. for comparison, the current model uses a button shift mechanism.

Power has not been officially disclosed, the N Line version is expected to be equipped with Hyundai's latest 2.5T GDi turbine four-cylinder engine, with automatic transmission and four-wheel drive system; the ordinary version is equipped with 1.5T engine and 2.0T engine. As a reference, the current Sonata model is equipped with 1.5T and 2.0T engines with maximum power of 170 horsepower and 240 horsepower respectively. In terms of transmission, 1.5T matches a 7-speed dry double clutch gearbox; 2.0T matches an 8-speed manual self-integrated gearbox.

Sonata, a medium-sized sedan owned by Hyundai, was once an important model in the modern segment, which was first introduced into China in 2002. Reviewing the development process of Sonata model, the first generation of Sonata model can be traced back to 1985, when the Sonata model based on the transformation of Stellar model was officially put on the market, with 1.8L and 2.0L engines on its power. it was soon sought after by the market because of its mainstream configuration and high fuel economy, and 528000 vehicles were sold in just three years. The second-generation Sonata was launched in 1988, and the biggest change compared with the previous generation is the first use of the front-drive layout, with a more compact structure, with annual sales of 120000 vehicles in the US market. Since then, Sonata models were iteratively renovated in 1993 and 1998, respectively.

In the domestic market, Sonata began to make domestic products in 2002. On October 18, 2002, Hyundai Group and BAIC jointly established Beijing Hyundai Automobile, which became the first Sino-foreign joint venture project in the field of automobile production approved after China's accession to WTO. On December 24 of the same year, Sonata was first introduced into China. At that time, it was the fifth generation model of Sonata, equipped with 2.0L and 2.7L naturally aspirated engines, with a price range of 17.9-265000 yuan, thanks to the price advantage. As soon as the new car went on sale, it was very popular in the market, selling more than 50,000 cars in the first year, and more than 40,000 in successive years.

In 2005, the sixth generation Sonata was unveiled, and the domestic market was renamed "Yuxiang". This generation of models adopted two generations of sales strategy, and only 2.4L engine version was introduced in the early stage, and the price was as high as 19.98-223800 yuan, which was much higher than that of the previous generation. As a result, the sales of this generation of models are very low.

In December 2008, the seventh generation Sonata went on sale as a modified model, and once again changed its name to "leading Xiang", with a price range of 155800-228800 yuan. At that time, the fifth-generation Sonata had stopped production, so the sales of this generation of models were better than those of Yuxiang, but at that time, similar models such as Teana and Camry had been domesticated, although they had more advantages in price and it was difficult to support Beijing Hyundai's expectations.

In 2011, Beijing Hyundai launched the eighth generation Sonata, which is known as "Sonata 8" in China and received excellent sales feedback, and even sold more than 10,000 vehicles a month, reversing the previous sluggish sales. Figures show that Sonata sold 100454 and 104670 vehicles respectively from 2012 to 2013, but it didn't last long, with only 54946 sold in 2014 because Beijing Hyundai introduced the ninth generation Sonata model.

The ninth-generation Sonata was officially unveiled in 2014 and officially went on sale in March 2015, selling in the same room as the eighth-generation Sonata, with two-generation models aimed at different market segments and people. Compared with the eighth generation model, the ninth generation Sonata design style has changed significantly, the new car size is also larger, but the ninth generation Sonata sales are still poor. According to the data, from 2015 to 2020, Sonata sold 64910, 35998, 12760, 6693 and 13483 vehicles, respectively.

In July 2020, the 10th generation Sonata went on the market, and the price range of the new car is 16.18-205800 yuan. As a new replacement model, the overall shape of the new car is more radical, and the power combination of 1.5T engine + 7DCT double clutch gearbox and 2.0T engine + 8AT gearbox is provided. However, the sales of the 10th generation Sonata are not optimistic, with cumulative sales of 9667 vehicles in 2021, with an average monthly sales of about 800 vehicles.

There was no official response to media reports that Hyundai abandoned the regular mid-term revamped model and went straight to the replacement model due to poor sales of the 10th generation Sonata model in the global market. At present, the Sonata on sale in China is the tenth generation model, which will be put on the market in July 2020. If there is no accident, the new generation Sonata model will become the eleventh generation model after the domestic market. From the new car design point of view, many netizens still agree with the new car design style, as to whether the new car can bear the title of "walking capacity" model again needs more time to verify.

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