South Korea is very much like the Australian automotive market in one important respect -- the taxis run on LPG. That's why two of South Korea's car manufacturers are working on hybrid-drive vehicles to run on the alternative fuel.
Kia's LPI Cerato is soon to be evaluated for the Australian market (more here) and now we have learned that parent company Hyundai is testing an LPG-fuelled Grandeur in Australia.
"We have secured a Grandeur LPI car -- that's not a hybrid, it's just an LPI car that we've brought in quite recently. We're preparing that for an evaluation," says Hyundai Australia's Senior Manager Product Communications and Public Relations, Ben Hershman.
Should Hyundai decide to go ahead with the 'alternative-alternative' fuel for its large car (the Grandeur is already available with a diesel), it would provide large-car buyers with lower running costs unaffected to the same degree by fuel pricing volatility that diesel variants have been. However, the Grandeur seems like an odd choice for evaluation in this country with an LPG-capable engine, particularly when it is already available with a diesel alternative.
But Hershman doesn't see the diesel Grandeur (pictured) as an 'alternative' fuel variant, as such.
"We would argue that diesel, for us and our customers and our dealers, is part of an everyday offering... we're seeing people come in specifically to buy the diesel," he told the Carsales Network.
"I'm not sure I can provide the answer right now," says Hershman, when asked how the Grandeur LPI would fit in between the petrol and diesel variants.
"There's a lot of things it throws up, such as complexity of stocks and numbers of models on offer. As an importer, you obviously still have to try and get it right... trying to make sure you've got the right mix of vehicles."
Hershman sees the challenge facing the importer with this variant as one of "balance between having huge choice and managing business needs". That's especially true in the case of the Grandeur, which doesn't sell in massive numbers.
Is it then more likely that the Grandeur LPI is here not so much to test out a model-specific business case, but rather to test the viability of LPI technology in the Australian market generally?
As both Kia and Hyundai are aware, there's a different blend of LPG in Australia, versus the fuel in South Korea. Perhaps the Grandeur is here specifically to assess the Australian fuel, rather than trawling for any incipient market niche? If that's the case, the Grandeur perhaps represents a phase of a feasibility study for the LPI Elantra which is going on sale in South Korea the second week of July.
"We are in progress with a feasibility study and we are discussing with HMC, but there really is no confirmation that the car [LPI Elantra] would be launched in Australia -- it's just too early to say," says Hershman.
But the existence of the LPI Grandeur in Australia suggests that Hyundai Australia is working hard to establish an LPG-capable presence in this country.
"We just need to continue discussing and talking... we're not sitting on our laurels, we're actively engaged," says Hershman.
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