SUPERCARS NO-NO

The two most obvious contenders to join Toyota with a future move into Supercars have both delivered a polite but emphatic "No, thanks" to the idea.

Kia and Hyundai have each rejected the notion of joining Ford and Chevrolet in Supercars despite their sales successes in Australia.

Both say they have no interest in joining the Supercars scrum, joining a long list of carmakers who have rejected the idea, even as Toyota Australia shifts into high gear with its plan to join the grid with Walkinshaw Andretti United from the start of the 2026 season.

“If you get it right, people will start to gravitate to your brand and go ‘Wow, that’s a fun brand. They are doing well, they know what they're doing’," said the head of sales and marketing at Toyota Australia, Sean Hanley.

But that's not good enough for the two South Korean companies, who share ownership and product development in their home country but operate as separate sales organisations in Australia.

“Supercars? No. Not interested,” the chief operating officer of Kia Australia, Damien Meredith, told Race.news.

He admitted there have been tentative approaches from teams, a similar story to Hyundai, but with no interest at their end.

"No. We are committed to our involvement in TCR racing in Australia," said Hyundai Australia spokesman, Bill Thomas.

"We are very happy to have just achieved back-to-back championships with Josh Buchan and HMO Customer Racing."

There are strong rumours that Hyundai will give support to an entry in the Australian Rally Championship next year, with Kiwi raider Hayden Paddon – off the back of successfully defending his title success in the European Rally Championship with a Hyundai i20N Rally2 car – looking for a new challenge across the Tasman.

But TCR and rallying is a giant leap from Supercars, even as Hyundai has recently confirmed a move into Le Mans sports car racing with a global program.

Kia has been powering up the sales charts in Australia and its efforts will be supercharged next year when it gets a ute, the Tasman, to tackle the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and the other one-tonne pick-up contenders.

The Tasman is already expected to be a sell-out, despite its polarising design.

Meredith is not convinced there would be any significant benefit from racing in Supercars, even though Toyota believes there will be a spin-off in support for its flagship LandCruiser and the top selling HiLux pick-up.

“Good luck to Toyota,” he said.

So, why is Supercars a no-no for Kia?

“I just don’t see any value in what it would do for the brand.”

The first potential connection between Kia and Supercars came was triggered by the Stinger, a four-door sporty sedan which has now been discontinued. The car’s popularity in Australia was not matched in other countries.

“I do miss the Stinger. It would be great to still have it," Meredith said.

Today, Kia is also missing the two-door coupe needed for Supercars, even if Toyota is happy and committed despite a question mark against the Supra coupe it plans to race.

The current Supra is cloned from the BMW Z4, which will leave the German company’s showrooms in 2026 in a move that's raising questions about the Supra.

“There is no plan to discontinue the Supra brand in this car company. I know that,” Hanley, told Race.news.

“BMW is not Toyota. The notion that Supra is stopping is purely speculative. And, quite frankly, I have no expectation, sitting here today, that the Supra brand will disappear. At all.

“The Supra nameplate goes back for years. There is a lot of legacy there. It is an incredibly important brand.”