What's Wrong With This Picture: The Korean Cannibals Edition
September 14th, 2010 10:41 AM
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This is the Hyundai ix20, a a European-style subcompact MPV in the style of Honda’s Fit. Or, more precisely, in the style of Kia’s Venga. In fact, the similarities between the new Hyundai and its Kia-branded predecessor are strong enough to hint at a future of GM-style brand differentiation issues for the Korean concern. And here’s the real irony: both cars share a platform with the Kia Soul, an American-style B-Segment MPV (possibly the only car to fit that description). Couldn’t Kia have rocked the Soul and left the ix20/Venga segment to Hyundai? Or was the Venga simply too good-looking to die? Either way, these two taught twins are a bit close for comfort.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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It's interesting to note that Hyundai and Kia are differentiating their product significantly more so in the US than in Europe. There is basically no sheetmetal shared btwn the Sonata and the new Optima, the Forte and the upcoming Elantra (don't even share the same suspension set-up), the K7/Cadenza and the upcoming Azera, etc., however, for a no. of their offerings in Europe, such as the ix20/Venga and the i30/Cee'd, it's basically the same sheetmetal w/ diff. front and rear fascias.
Part of Hyundai/Kia problem is that their market share in the Korean market which necessitates selling the same vehicle under different brands. Also Kia/Hyundai are much more bottomfeeders than in the USA and they are also smaller so they simply need the extra number of cars to make it profitable