Automobile Blog

Hyundai cancels Entourage Minivan Project

Hyundai has announced that it has canceled its upcoming Entourage minivan, which was to have been one of the most appropriately named vehicles in recent history.

Instead, it intends to fill the people-mover function with its upcoming seven-passenger sport utility (which looks to be aimed squarely at the Honda Pilot), and a six-passenger “sport wagon�.

Steve Kelleher, the president and CEO of Hyundai Auto Canada, says the company has “completely redefined our strategy in the people-mover segment.”

Kelleher says the company “considered the evolution of the minivan, crossover and SUV segments, the changing needs of our target customers, and the development of the Hyundai brand toward refinement, confidence, leadership and innovation.”

As a result, he says, “we felt the best strategy was to focus on unique crossover minivan and SUV solutions and leave the traditional minivan to others.”

Considering the softness of the minivan market and the fact that Hyundai already sells such a vehicle as the Kia Sedona (pictured above), this is probably a smart decision. However, it’s a bit difficult to predict where things will go if gas prices continue to soar.