AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)03/30 Report--

On March 30, Hyundai officially launched the new generation of Sonata. As a replacement model, the appearance and interior of the new Sonata have undergone major changes, and the ordinary version and N Line version are available for consumers to choose from. It is understood that the new car will start pre-sale in some markets in April and is expected to be officially available this year.

In terms of appearance, the new Sonata adopts a new design language, making the overall shape younger and more scientific and technological. 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 headlamp group adopts a split design, the upper daylight adopts a penetrating LED light source, with a large trapezoidal air inlet below, and the front grille and front bumper are integrated into an integrated design. It is understood that. The new Sonata will be available for consumers to choose from in both the regular version and the N Line, which is mainly blackened for details to make it look more sporty.

On the side of the body, the new Sonata uses a sedan body, the roof is pressed down from the front row, and the outline of the body is not much different from that of the current model. In the rear part, Hyundai car is redesigned for the rear, with a new shape of the through-type taillight group, and the bumper also adopts a new styling style with a prominent sense of visual hierarchy. In addition, the N Line version uses a bilateral four-way exhaust layout, which is more sporty.

In terms of interior decoration, the new Sonata uses an integrated screen design composed of a 12.3-inch dashboard and a 12.3-inch central control screen, together with a new style of three-spoke multi-function direction, making the car look very textured. At the same time, the car also uses a brand-new shift mechanism, equipped with head-up display, 12-speaker Bose Premium sound system and other configurations.

On the power side, the new car will offer five options, including 2.5T, 1.6t, 2.0L gasoline engine, 2.0L hybrid system and 2.0L natural gas (LPG) engine, of which the N Line model will be equipped with a 2.5T GDi turbocharged engine. As a reference, Sonata models on sale in China are equipped with 1.5T and 2.0T engines with maximum power of 170 horsepower and 240 horsepower respectively, of which 1.5T matches 7-speed dry double-clutch transmission and 2.0T matches 8-speed manual self-integrated gearbox.

The Sonata is a medium-sized car owned by Hyundai, which competes with Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Teana, Volkswagen Passat and other models, but its sales in the domestic market are very poor.

Beijing Hyundai Motor Co., Ltd. was established on October 18, 2022, becoming the first Sino-foreign joint venture project in the field of automobile production after China's accession to the WTO. A month later, the fifth-generation Sonata went on sale as Beijing Hyundai's first model, priced between 17.9 yuan and 265000 yuan.

Sonata provides 2.0L and 2.7L power in China, of which 2.0L version is the most popular. Due to the small demand of domestic consumers for high-engine models, Sonata also launched the 2.5L version, directly replacing the 2.7L version. In 2008, Sonata simply stopped production of the 2.5L model, and the starting price fell to 126800 yuan.

The fifth generation Sonata was produced in China until 2009, when Sonata could no longer keep up with the development of the market, so Beijing Hyundai launched Yuxiang (sixth generation) and leading Xiang (seventh generation) based on the independent research and development of the fifth generation Sonata. In order to change the decline of Sonata in the domestic market, but because they are special models, the sales of the two models in the domestic market are still poor.

In April 2011, Beijing Hyundai launched the eighth-generation Sonata, with a price range of 16.69-249900 yuan, reversing the previous slump in sales. From 2012 to 2013, Sonata sold 100454 and 104670, respectively, according to the data.

In March 2015, Beijing Hyundai's ninth-generation Sonata was officially launched, offering 1.6T, 2.0L and 2.4L power for consumers to choose from. The price range is 17.48-249800 yuan, which is sold in the same room with the eighth generation Sonata. The two-generation models are sold for different market segments and people. However, after the launch of Sonata 9, sales are still low, with sales of 64910 vehicles, 35998 vehicles, 12760 vehicles, 6693 vehicles and 13483 vehicles respectively from 2015 to 2020.

In July 2020, Beijing Hyundai's 10th generation Sonata went public with a price range of 16.18-205800 yuan. As a new replacement model, the overall shape of the new car is younger, offering a power combination of 1.5T engine + 7DCT double clutch transmission and 2.0T engine + 8AT gearbox. However, sales of the 10th generation Sonata are not optimistic, with cumulative sales of 9667 vehicles in 2021.

At one point, there was news in the market that Sonata had terminated the replacement due to low sales. However, the new Sonata has been released and is expected to continue to be made by Beijing Hyundai to become the 11th generation Sonata model in the future. Of course, it is also unknown whether the new Sonata can reverse the decline after being made in China. As we all know, Sonata locates medium-sized cars, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Teana, Volkswagen Passat are all its strong competitors, among which Toyota Camry and Honda Accord plan to complete the replacement between 2023 and 2024, which will also impact Sonata's development position in the domestic market. At the same time, the rise of independent brands has also increased a lot of development pressure on Sonata. For example, Mingjue MG7, which just went on sale last night, also locates a medium-sized car with 1.5T and 2.0T engines at a price of 11.98-169800 yuan. It will not be easy for Sonata to gain a foothold in the domestic market in the future.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat