Hyundai Discontinuing the Elantra Coupe in 2015

2014 Hyundai Elantra Coupe (Credit: © Hyundai Motors America)

Recently, compact coupes have been dwindling in numbers, as the only real selections customers have had were the Civic Coupe, the Forte Koup and the Elantra Coupe. According to a report from Edmunds.com, this segment is set to become one car lighter in 2015. In a conversation with Hyundai America spokesman, Jim Trainor, Edmunds.com learned that they’ve decided to focus more on the Elantra Sedan and GT, and eliminate the Coupe from the American lineup.

There is no report on whether Hyundai will continue building the Elantra Coupe for other countries, but I assume that it will continue being a part of the automaker’s global lineup. It’s odd to see Hyundai pull the trigger on eliminating its small coupe so quickly, as it just debuted midway through the 2013 model year. Apparently Hyundai had seen enough to know that it was not necessary for our market.

Other than the shift in focus,  there was no mention of another reason for axing the Elantra Coupe, but a report from Auto Blog points to slow sales of the coupe being the key reason. As a whole, the Elantra is the sales leader in Hyundai’s line up, as it accounts for 31 percent of its year-to-date sales in America as of the July 2014 sales report, but the report does not break down sales of the sedan and coupe individually.

Given some of the rather intelligent business moves Hyundai has made in recent years, I cannot question this decision. Plus, if buyers still crave a Korean coupe, the Forte Koup — the Elantra Coupe’s platform mate — appears as if it will survive a little longer than the Elantra.