Hyundai stalking Toyota RAV4 with new Tucson Hybrid: "We're really bullish on the hybrid specification and bullish in terms of where Hyundai's heading in its hybrid roll-out"

In confirming the importance of the new hybrid version of its updated Tucson mid-size SUV Hyundai Motor Company Australia’s Chief Operating Officer John Kett has already told CarsGuide, “The industry’s all about hybrid”. And the category target for the petrol-electric newcomer is clear. 

In the first six months of 2024 Toyota Australia sold more than 25,000 RAV4s, which puts its closest competitors in the medium SUV segment, Mitsubishi’s Outlander and the Mazda CX-5 in the shade with 14,443 and 11,920 registrations, respectively.

And according to Toyota Australia roughly 95 per cent of those RAVs are propelled by hybrid powertrains, with the Japanese maker’s ‘Hybrid Synergy Drive’ tech established over multiple generations of the ground-breaking Prius before more recently filtering into the brand’s broader model range.

Its hybrids have been so successful, in fact, Toyota Australia has recently confirmed along with a host of other SUV, hatch and sedan models, the RAV4 will henceforth only be available in hybrid form.

Which begs the question, does the new Hyundai Tucson Hybrid have what it takes to put a dent in the RAV4 Hybrid’s market dominance?

Hyundai Motor Company Australia Product Planning Manager Sam Dabestani is confident it can help Tucson win over a fresh batch of hybrid SUV buyers, telling CarsGuide, “Bringing a hybrid to our [Tucson] line-up answers a need in the market that a lot of our customers have had. We now have a very credible, very desirable product. 

“By fulfilling that requirement we are going to naturally attract a lot of hybrid buyers who maybe weren’t sold on certain competitor products.

“[They] want the package Hyundai is offering in terms of interior design, safety, convenience, comfort; the whole package the Tucson offers but now with a hybrid powertrain. We feel that’s certainly going to attract new customers to the brand,” he said.

John Kett agrees. Hyundai already offers hybrid variants of its i30 sedan, Kona and Santa Fe models but Mr Kett sees the Tucson Hybrid’s arrival as a significant opportunity.

“It’s a great chance for us to up our competitive intensity in the hybrid space and at the moment people are willing to pay the price for those vehicles. So, we’re quite buoyed by that.

“Why is Tucson so important to us? Because the second biggest segment in the market is mid-size SUV and if you don’t have a ute - and we don’t - the reality is this is the biggest segment for us to play in and it’s our centre of gravity in terms of us clawing back market share for Hyundai.

“So, we’re really bullish on [Tucson Hybrid], bullish on the hybrid specification on this vehicle and bullish in terms of where Hyundai’s heading in its hybrid roll-out,” he said.