Hyundai has revealed the first photo of the new-generation i30. Hyundai expects the new-generation i30 to build on the remarkable success of the original model – the company’s first car to be launched with the ‘i’ prefix, introducing a new nomenclature and heralding a new era for Hyundai in Europe.

The original i30 was also the first model to be designed and engineered in Europe, the first to be produced at the company’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic. After its July 2007 launch, the i30 went on to increase its sales in Europe every year, attracting 115,000 buyers in 2010 – the highest-ever annual sales figure for an individual Hyundai model in Europe – and achieving total sales of more than 350,000 units up to mid-2011.

Designed and engineered at the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre in Russelsheim, Germany, the new-generation i30 represents a further evolution of the unique Hyundai form language, ‘fluidic sculpture’, displaying the company’s distinctive design DNA.


Thomas Burkle, Chief Designer at Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre, commented: “The new-generation i30 is recognisable thanks to the Hyundai family face with its signature hexagonal-shaped front grille and the jewel-like design of the headlamps, together with distinctive daytime running lights.  These lights present an angular shape within a more softly-edged recess, adding a strong personality to the vehicle, as well as a sense of refinement and luxury.”

“Through the profile of the new generation i30, a strong character line runs over the front and rear wheelarches all the way to the tail lamps.  A softer, lower character line rises up the car’s flank creating a play of light and shadow – a fundamental feature of fluidic sculpture,” Thomas Burkle concluded.


“The car has been designed to take on the leading vehicles in the C-segment and join the all-new i40 as a quality benchmark for Hyundai.  Our ultimate customer care package, Five Year Triple Care, will be a valuable point of differentiation for the new-generation i30 in its highly competitive class,” Allan Rushforth added.