Hyundai’s Frankfurt concept is ‘ready for production’

A Hyundai employee may have revealed that the Korean manufacturer is about to put a concept car into production.

A number of Hyundai’s senior product planners and designers were in Australia this week for the launch of the all-new Venue small SUV. However, when chatting with Wheels, one let slip that the 45 concept which was revealed in Frankfurt is being prepared to go on sale to the public.

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The Hyundai employee stated the electric concept car is ‘ready for production’. We shouldn’t have to wait long either, with the source describing a production version as “very close”.

Our source declined to go on the record, stating the project was ‘top secret’, but suggested that the look of the production vehicle would be similar to the concept, with a change in physical size.

“There will be some small dimensional changes,” they told Wheels.

We would expect that much of the more outlandish interior and exterior features would be rectified for the production model.

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The comments fly in the face of what Hyundai claimed on the ground in Frankfurt, where it stated that the concept wasn’t going into production per say, instead offering a preview of the brand’s design language for future products.

Bill Thomas, Hyundai Australia’s Public Relations General Manager, told Wheels that the brand’s local arm would be keen to sell any future electrified product.

“We are looking at everything that the parent company is proposing,” he said.

“I think we need to get everything we can into the market. I think the general opinion of people is that Australians are a little bit backward [with adoption of EVs], but I don’t think they are. There are plenty of Aussies out there that want to look after the environment and do the right thing.”

Thomas added that he didn’t think adding a third full-electric model – alongside the Ioniq and Kona EV – would be too much for Australia.

“[Ioniq and Kona] are selling quite well, with Kona selling well above our target – there is a waiting list for that car,” he added.