Zander Drives Cars

The hot hatchback is dead in the water here in the United States. The already niche market share they had has decreased significantly due to a larger shift towards crossover SUVs, leaving only Volkswagen and Honda as the sole contributors to the American hot hatchback market as of 2022. 2023 will see the arrival of a new Civic Type-R and the very impressive-looking Toyota Corolla GR, however with Hyundai killing off the Veloster N, we won’t see an actual uptick in the amount of hot hatchbacks models sold here. So, a question emerges: what now? Hot hatchbacks are going away, what do we replace them with? Well, the title of this article is the answer, yes, I’m not kidding.

Let’s go back to Hyundai for a moment, shall we? In 2023, two models will have the prestigious “N” moniker: the Elentra and the Kona. When the Kona N was launched back in 2021, it was met with confusion. Why would you supe up a crossover? Did they really put a large wing on it? Why would anyone buy that? Well, I’ll let you in on a secret: they’re not the only ones doing it.

Mercedes and BMW are also guilty of playing the hot crossover game to different degrees. BMW takes a more subtle approach with cars like the X1 and X2 M-sport, while Mercedes gave us, in typical Mercedes fashion, the GLA 45 AMG. Both of these brands are proof that there is a market for hot crossovers and considering both companies’ offerings are sometimes double what the Kona N costs, they sell well enough to be kept on sale for almost five model years. Speaking of sales, let us talk about that.

Photo credits: Mercedes-Benz, BMW USA

In 2020, Volkwagen sold roughly 31,200 Golfs in the United States. Out of those 31,200, 8,600 of those were GTIs, giving the GTI a roughly 27% slice of the sales pie for the Golf. The Hyundai Kona, on the other hand, sold roughly 76,200 units in the United States. While I couldn’t find an estimate telling me how many Kona N’s were sold alongside the regular Kona this year, if we’re to use the GTI’s 27% as an estimate, the Kona N sold roughly 20,000 units. However, we can even lower that percentage to roughly 11% and still have a similar ratio to the GTI sold in comparison to the base Golf. This not only shows that the Kona N needs to sell fewer units to make up for the same market share but also shows that the potential for the Kona N and other hot crossovers is absolutely enormous.

The point is simple, automobile manufacturers are able to produce hot crossovers even if the sales percentages are less because of how many the regular version of that car sells as well. Plus, it’s cheaper to rework an existing car into a high-performance model, rather than go to the trouble of producing a bespoke model for the sole purpose of performance. I know it sounds like I’m rambling here, but the numbers don’t lie, and as much as car enthusiasts question why we don’t get certain cars here in the United States, the answer is always sales. More sales mean more money, it is basic economics. Let’s not forget, also, that a larger engine, better handling, and some sporty exterior trim pieces are the same no matter what car they go on.

Photo credits: Ford UK, Seat Newsroom, Car and Driver

The last point I’d like to make here is that, while yes, hot hatchbacks still sell well in other parts of the world such as Europe, the crossover wave is global, and automobile manufacturers are already selling hot crossovers in Europe such as the Ford Puma ST, Volkwagen T-roc R, and the ever amazing Cupra Formentor. At some point, we will see an increase in these vehicles being sold in this country, and my one piece of advice that I hope everyone in this article takes away from it is this: welcome them with open arms. They can be, and are, just as fun as hatchbacks. Just try it.