The quirky Hyundai Veloster may not be everyone's cup of tea, but there are some markets that are clamoring for the opportunity to get behind its wheel. Despite a recent price increase, the sporty N version remains an especially attractive proposition, but in Australia, it hasn't been doing well enough to justify its continued existence in that market. The Veloster only launched in Australia in late August 2019, but its considerable price premium over the more practical i30 has meant that buyers haven't seen much value in the car. As a result, its disappointing sales figures mean that it is no longer a viable offering for Hyundai of Australia.

Of course, this discontinuation is not immediate. CarAdvice is reporting that the final batch of Velosters destined for Australia was produced towards the end of 2019. These were imported in early 2020 and registered for the road as late as last month. The pandemic obviously had a big impact on demand for new vehicles - at least in its early months, but even as the world slowly adjusts to a new way of life, the powers that be at Hyundai have decided that it is not popular enough. Since the Veloster was launched Down Under, 846 units have been sold, 586 of which found new homes this year.

Those sales figures gave the Veloster a market share of 10.9 percent in the segment of sports cars under AUS$80,000 (approximately $60,500). This is actually a remarkable achievement since this made the Veloster the second-best seller in its class. By comparison, the Ford Mustang (which falls into the same segment) managed a whopping 48.1 percent share of sales. People clearly want bigger and more practical vehicles in Australia, and it has nothing to do with brand bias. The Hyundai i30 managed to shift over 18,700 units so far this year. Is a similar fate in store for our Veloster? We'll have to wait and see, but a quirky design coupled with a premium price and minimal interior space are tough sells in any segment.