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Hyundai will be discontinuing sales of its Sonata for the North American market before the decade ends, according to several reports in recent weeks. First published by South Korean media outlet Chosun Ilbo, then by trade publication Automotive News, the company is widely expected to nix the long-running sedan by 2028, the expected end of its current generation.
Those reports also suggest that Kia's K5 and Stinger sedans might also be discontinued.
As Hyundai Motor Group makes the shift toward electrification, the focus has mostly been on the more popular SUV segment. The 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 2022 Kia EV6 both fit into that slot, while the coming Kia EV9 and Ioniq 7 promise to reach larger SUV buyers.
Also coming is the Ioniq 6, an all-electric sedan, though no details are available yet. Hyundai only says it expects it to compete well in its segment and hold its own when compared to its SUV offerings.
Reached by email, a Hyundai spokesperson told Newsweek that the Sonata is an important part of the company's lineup and that it wouldn't comment on product speculation.
"Sedans continue to remain important for Hyundai. While their share of sales has declined, there are still millions of customers that buy sedans each year and we want to try and capture as many of those customers as possible. Elantra, Elantra Hybrid, Elantra N Line, Sonata, Sonata N Line and Sonata Hybrid represent the core of our sedan portfolio and provide consumers with a variety of great options."
The 2022 Hyundai Sonata starts at $24,500. The hybrid variant begins at $27,350, while the sporty Sonata N Line has a starting MSRP of $33,750.
At the end of 2021, more than 93,000 Sonatas were sold, which was a 21 percent improvement over the previous year. But the Elantra, a step down in size, overshadowed it with about 124,000 models leaving dealership lots.
Kia's K5 ended last year similarly, selling about 92,000 units. It sold about 13,000 of the Stinger sports sedan.
In its recent Brand Watch quarterly report, Kelley Blue Book found that only 37 percent of shoppers in the non-luxury segment considered a sedan for a new vehicle purchase.
Larger sedans have been slowly exiting the American market for years as well. The Chevrolet Impala and Ford Fusion both left in 2020. The Mazda6 was discontinued for the 2022 model year. Volkswagen and Toyota have said that the Passat and Avalon sedans will be gone after this year as well.
Among the segment, some still remain. The 2022 Honda Accord dominates along with the 2022 Toyota Camry; the 2022 Nissan Altima and 2022 Nissan Maxima are still on offer and the 2022 Chrysler 300 continues to kick on.
