Plug-in hybrid technology (PHEV) is skyrocketing in popularity among Australian new car buyers Hyundai remains reluctant to introduce such powertrains in its popular SUV models.
In conversation with Daily SparkzHyundai Australia product development and planning manager Tim Rodgers said he was “not really sure” whether the Korean brand’s customers would flock to a Tucson PHEV or Santa Fe PHEV given the potential price premiums.
“It’s certainly in our technology portfolio, but ultimately it’s about whether customers are willing to vote with their wallets and buy it,” Rodgers said.
With Daily Sparkz you can save thousands on a new car. Click Here to get a great deal.
“For the brands that do offer PHEVs, we can see that this is usually the only hybrid offering they have and they price at hybrid prices. So I’m not sure if customers are choosing it because of the PHEV element or because it’s at that price point and hybridized.”
“We’ve been working out and studying what a price increase would mean for plug-in hybrids compared to our hybrid vehicles, and I’m not sure if customers are ready for that yet and how we would need to offer it. We may have to wait a little longer before we can optimize that a little better.”
“Let’s see how NVES impacts us and how we can cost-optimize this technology to perhaps offer it,” Mr Rodgers added.
Although he didn’t specifically name any specific competing brands or models, Mr Rodgers is clearly referring to the influx of plug-in hybrid SUVs from cheaper Chinese brands that are driving PHEV growth in Australia.
Hyundai’s global PHEV portfolio is largely limited to the Tucson and Santa Fe SUVs, with Europe and North America being the key markets – although it’s worth noting that the Tucson is offered in two different body lengths depending on the region, with Australia and the US using the longer body.
The powertrain of both models is the same 1.6-liter turbocharged plug-in hybrid system also used in the related Kia Sportage and Sorento models. Only the latter is sold in Australia and offers system outputs of 195 kW and 350 Nm, while the 14 kWh lithium-ion battery offers an electric range of up to 68 km on the NEDC cycle.
While the Kia Sorento PHEV costs over $11,000 more than the equivalent Sorento Hybrid AWD, the plug-in significantly reduces CO2 emissions – a key metric under the federal government’s New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) – reporting 37g/km versus 129g/km for the Hybrid AWD.
The current Tucson and Santa Fe ranges offer the same self-charging hybrid system as the Sorento mentioned above, but the latter also has a high-emission 2.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine – the 2.5 T-GDi’s CO2 emissions (212 g/km) are significantly higher than those of the HEV (128 g/km).
Given that the NVES CO2 cap for Type 1 (i.e. passenger cars) has been reduced to 117g/km in 2026 and will be further tightened to 92g/km in 2027, a Santa FE PHEV in particular appears to be a viable option for reducing the nameplate’s average CO2 emissions.
The smaller Tucson may be less vulnerable to NVES penalties for now, although the hybrid version already exceeds the 2026 cap (121g/km) and the non-hybrid turbo petrol is no longer available for MY26, but the base 2.0-litre petrol claims a combined figure of 184g/km.
Sales of PHEVs in Australia recorded the largest percentage growth of any fuel type in 2025, increasing 130.9 percent year-on-year to 53,484 units, or around 50 percent of EV sales (103,270, up 13.1 percent).
A large part of this growth was driven by new brands and models from China, including the BYD Shark 6 (18,073 units) and the Sealion 6 (9,055 units, up 46.1 percent). Other strong performers included the PHEVs GWM Haval H6 (2542) and Cannon Alpha (1371) as well as the Mitsubishi Outlander (4110).
This momentum looks set to continue into 2026, with January VFACTS showing 170.5 percent growth in the PHEV segment, while pure gasoline and diesel sales continue to fall and hybrid sales stabilize. The number of electric vehicles also rose by an impressive 93.3 percent in the first month of 2026.
Hyundai’s leadership team said at the launch of the new electric Elexio that it would focus primarily on hybrid models in the next 12 to 18 months, after a successful 2025 in which the company was second to Toyota in sales.
Considering the fact that the brand’s local operations manager also said he wants to “beat everyone” on the sales charts, PHEVs could play an important role in bringing Hyundai to a new, fast-growing audience if the Korean brand can get the price right.
Stay tuned Daily Sparkz Stay tuned and let us know what you think in the comments.
MORE: Explore the Hyundai showroom
