Hyundai Australia stands by combustion engines, even if the ever stricter emissions caps under the federal government’s New Vehicle Emissions Standard (NVES) are exerting pressure.
In conversation with Daily Sparkz Speaking at the launch of the all-new Elexio electric SUV, Hyundai Australia chief operating officer Gavin Donaldson said: “We will not be removing combustion engines from (our range) anytime soon.”
“Combustion engines will continue to play an important role in our product portfolio. We simply see that we have a greater opportunity to sell more hybrid vehicles.
“We still have ICE available in Kona, Tucson and Santa Fe, but we are seeing greater demand for hybrid vehicles,” he added.
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Mr Donaldson’s comments come after his media address at the launch of Elexio confirmed the Korean brand’s plans to refine its hybrid products over the next 12 to 18 months.
Overall, Hyundai’s hybrid sales rose 92.8 percent to 28,851 units in 2025, putting the Korean brand firmly in second place in HEV sales, behind leader Toyota (115,953) and ahead of China’s GWM (11,198).
At the top were the mid-sized SUVs Tucson (10,556) and Kona (10,407), with the hybrid variants accounting for 52.4 and 45.7 percent of total sales across all brands, respectively.
The Tucson and Kona were Australia’s fourth and fifth most popular hybrid vehicles on the sales charts in 2025, behind the Toyota RAV4, Corolla and Corolla Cross, all of which switched to pure hybrid models in the last 18 months.
Hyundai’s larger Santa Fe managed 81.8 percent hybrid share this year with 5,125 units and was the next non-Toyota model in the top 10 best-selling hybrid models.
Earlier this week, the Australian government released the first results of its New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES), showing around two-thirds of brands exceeding their emissions targets.
Type 1 vehicles (passenger cars and SUVs) are subject to a limit of 141 g/km of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2025, while Type 2 vehicles – including vans, vans and large off-road SUVs such as the Ford Everest – are subject to a limit of 210 g/km.
Hyundai Motor Company reported a “preliminary emissions value” of 84,563 units, meaning it must trade credit units with another company by December 31, 2027 or risk a penalty of $50 multiplied by its final emissions value in February 2028.
Mr Donaldson attributed the company’s NVES performance to its popular high-performance N Division products, which, apart from the electric Ioniq 5 N, are powered by powerful, high-emission petrol engines with levels well above CO2 limits.
Still, the Korean brand’s COO has spoken out about its halo performance products, noting that higher sales of hybrid and electric vehicles are key to offsetting NVES’s drawbacks.
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