The 2021 Hyundai Elantra N-Line made plenty of waves when it first appeared, with the model aiming to restore some of the lost luster that left the current generation Elantra Sport when it was refreshed a few years ago. However, the N-Line’s arrival meant that Hyundai had to make some concessions, and that apparently meant axing both the Elantra GT and GT N-Line for the U.S. market.
Hyundai claims that the departure of both models is due to two distinctive factors. In the case of the GT N-Line it was solely to make room for the Elantra N-Line, with the hatchback potentially cannibalizing sales off of the four door if they were sold together in Hyundai showrooms. The Elantra GT on the other hand is leaving to help bolster Hyundai’s growing SUV lineup. That particular sector has seen strong growth for Hyundai, with the Venue and the Kona already recording strong sales numbers during their time in production. On that note,the Venue entered the market late last year, while the Kona gets an all new Night Edition, with the EV version being carried over for the 2021 model year.
This change also comes at a time when combined sales for the Elantra sedan and GT have decreased significantly during the 2018 and 2019 model years with 175,094 combined units sold in 2019 versus the 200,415 that the duo sold back in 2018. That’s roughly the same time that the Kona began to find its rhythm with sales shooting up from 47,090 units in 2018, to a whopping 73,326 during the same period of time. With all of this growth, it was only a matter of time before the Elantra GT was muscled out of the lineup. As for the Venue, it only receives very minor changes for the 2021 model year, with the major change being the removal of the six speed manual gearbox. While that might upset some buyers, local Hyundai dealers we spoke with revealed that the manual was a very minuscule portion of Venue sales, so the move makes some financial sense.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.