Could the Hyundai Staria Hybrid be coming to the PH soon?

It’s a very tough market right now for the electrified van segment, with competitors coming in left and right to disrupt the status quo that the Japanese and Koreans have established. As for Hyundai Motor Philippines, they’ve remained relatively quiet since the start of the year, even opting not to participate in this year’s Philippine International Motor Show.

Earlier this year, however, the Staria van got its first major facelift, alongside a handful of new powertrains that include a full electric and a hybrid powertrain, and it seems that Hyundai Motor Philippines is in the works to potentially bring the latter in.

READ: The Hyundai Staria gets its first facelift and a new all-electric version

According to documents from the Department of Energy’s list of recognized EVs, the Staria HEV will be coming in two different variants, the 1.6T HEV Premium Plus 7-seater, and the 1.6T HEV GLS 6AT 9-seater, presumably taking the spot of the current 2.2 CRDi Premium+ AWD 9 and 7 seaters.

The hybrid version of the space-age van is quite familiar, being used in other bigger Hyundai Motor Group products like the Tucson, Santa Fe, Kia Carnival, Sorento, and Sportage, mating a 1.6-liter turbocharged gasoline engine to an electric motor and a 1.48kWh lithium-ion battery that produces a total combined power output of 245 horsepower and 367Nm of torque, which is sent to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission.

The facelift comes with a brand-new grille with horizontal chrome accents all over, new two-tone, aerodynamic wheel designs, a spiffy new purple paint job, a revised interior featuring a brand-new steering wheel, a revised digital instrument cluster and infotainment screens running newer software, and the option for dark brown leather upholstery with new patterns.

We don’t know when Hyundai Motor Philippines plans to introduce this facelift, but we can only take this as the automaker’s push towards more aggressive electrification efforts, especially in the face of the likes of Denza and BYD with their luxurious electrified minivans.

^{Photos from Hyundai}