The new N sub-brand from Hyundai hasn’t even made its way to the US market yet and we already know the plan for the future will include some form of electrification. This is certainly an easy and sensible jump from what we see right now, considering the movement in the market. As the team begins to offer the N brand as the performance arm of the company, the future after 2021 isn’t clear, but it certainly should clearly include an electric model for us to drive and enjoy, especially if the current engineering boss continues to be in charge of this area of the brand.
The Current N Brand
Until the 2021 model year, the Hyundai N brand will offer the world the i30 N, i30 N Fastback, and Veloster N. We don’t yet know if either of the i30 models will make their way to the North American market, but we do know that the Veloster N will be offered in the next few months. After this time, which is only a couple of years away, the brand will look to offer more models and create an expanded portfolio of vehicles that can be right for us to drive.
The Electric Advancement Expected
According to Albert Biermann, electrification can’t be avoided after 2021. Currently, Biermann is the engineering boss for the N sub-brand and he was once the M brand leader at BMW. The elegance and athleticism he brought to the German brand are now going to show up in the Hyundai and Kia models that are meant to offer us exciting and fun driving experiences on the road. With his influence, we could see the Ioniq SUV turned into an EV that can wear the N badge with a larger battery, bigger motor, and improved inverter.
A Hint at the Future
Not only does Biermann feel that electric is the future of the automotive world, especially the N sub-brand, but he let us know that the division is working on something special that could become the next model we see. This new vehicle doesn’t’ have and we’re not sure what it will be yet, but his hints indicate it could be a mid-engine hatchback that might make its way to the N sub-brand in order to become an amazing sports car that could be a lot of fun on the track when it arrives.
What We’ll See Soon
If you are driving a used Hyundai Sonata or another vehicle and are looking to the future, what is next? The next model from the N brand will be the i30 N Fastback which will be offered for our review at the 2018 Paris Motor Show later in the fall. Around the same time, the Veloster N will show up at dealerships in North America to give us the version from this sub-brand that we’ll get to enjoy. The future could be somewhat unclear regarding the model lineup of the N sub-brand, but electrification can be expected and a variety of vehicles will certainly make perfect sense. It will be interesting to see what this brand turns into over the next several years.
