Hyundai is ready to close the chapter on station wagons, and the popular i30 Wagon is going down in history. Although spy photos from last year hinted that the most practical version of the compact model could survive the upcoming redesign, the latest information says that there is still no salvation for the station wagon version. The decision did not come from unverified sources, but from the very top of the company.
Namely, Xavier Martinetpresident and CEO of Hyundai Motor Europe, has made it clear that wagons are no longer a priority for the brand, thus sealing the fate of their last remaining representative in the European market.
“There’s a reason why we don’t talk much about wagons – in this segment, demand just isn’t growing. The i30 is a vehicle that has historically been mostly a fleet vehicle, where the price is often low and the profit not so high,” Martinet told Auto Express.
This decision reflects a broader trend in the automotive industry. The numbers for station wagons simply do not match anymore, as confirmed by sales data on the European market, the traditional stronghold of this body style. While SUVs held 41 percent of the market in 2020, by 2025 their share has jumped to a whopping 59 percent. In the same period, the market share of station wagons fell from 10.2 percent to only 7.1 percent.
For manufacturers, the math is therefore clear – SUVs, which often share a platform with smaller cars, sell for higher prices and bring significantly higher profits. This enables them to invest more in research and development, especially in the expensive transition to electric vehicles. Martinet called the global appetite for wagons “minimal”, noting that buyers in key markets such as China and the US had long since turned away crossoverima and SUVs.
“You focus your investment and R&D resources on the projects that make the most sense. There is currently some demand for caravans, but not much, so that doesn’t justify further investment,” he explained.
The Hyundai i30 Wagon, which in some markets was also sold under the designations CW, SW and Kombi, was part of the range from 2007. Its end was somewhat expected, given that its technical twin, the Kia Ceed SportsWagon, has already been withdrawn from sale.