Hyundai resets its sights on 500,000 units in 2008
In 2007 Hyundai had a US sales target of 555,000. That number was set by HQ in Korea, and when it was clear they weren't going to make it, they revised it downward to just over 500,000. By the time the bell rung, even that number proved a little beyond Hyundai's reach: they sold 467,009 cars last year. That still represented a 2.5-percent gain over 2006 sales.
Hyundai's goal this year is a 20-percent increase in global sales. For the US, though, the goal is 500,000 units, which is the goal set by the folks in the US, not Korea, and even though nearly everyone has predicted a sales downturn, that goal is "regardless of what the industry is doing." To achieve those sales, the automaker has revamped numerous aspects of their dealer incentive operation. Hyundai dealership profit was down five-percent last year, and only two-thirds of dealers benefited from company incentives. This year, the dealer incentive has been streamlined and set up so that 99-percent of dealers are expected to receive some sort of incentive. Dealers will also be receiving more Accents and Elantras to prevent the shortages experienced last year.
Hyundai is also bringing back its dealer ad associations and is going to distribute more largesse to help dealers advertise everything happening for the growing brand. Hyundai has a refreshed Sonata and the new Genesis coming in the spring, and the Genesis coupe and Elantra Touring coming later this year, and it wants to make sure everyone hears the word. It's quite conceivable that Hyundai can increase its sales this year in spite of the market, and making its dealers happy will be a good way to help the cause. Dealers are, of course, happy about the changes, but also want to make sure Hyundai doesn't forget its bread and butter cars and customers in the Genesis hoopla.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
whofan 6:20PM (1/28/2008)
I see a lot of Hyundias were I live and they are every bit as good as anything out of Japan.
But what do I know? Thinking that the American cars I choose to drive are still the best.
I do feel that if ever so inclined to buy foreign, I`d get a better deal and better car from Hyundia than from Toyota. The Sonata lookes down right handsome next to a Camry or Accord.
The new Santa Fe looks good too. People who have them think they`re great vehicles. The Korean eye for design suits me better than the Japanese.
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Tagg 6:32PM (1/28/2008)
I find Hyundais to be good cars that are well built and fairly inexpensive but in many cases bland. The new Genesis, Azera are a couple the come to mind that seem nice but are boring to my senses. I suppose if you need a cheap, boring car then Hyundai is the way the way to go but seems there is a better choice from some other manufacterer in every segment they compete in. They simply have no must buy in either cars of SUV's.
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Dan 6:55PM (1/28/2008)
They don't make any outright class leaders or emotional, I-want-it must buys.
But the 10-15% cheaper, I-can-afford-it appeal makes them every bit as much a must buy for some people.
(Although clearly not as many people as they had hoped.)
jsjs 11:18PM (1/28/2008)
Yeah, Toyota and Honda (much less GM until very recently) aren't known for bland, boring (and some ugly) looking cars.
Tagg 3:22AM (1/29/2008)
Of course others have bland cars, I never said they didn't. But Hyundai seems to have Ford Taurus styling across the board. The Honda Accord is a great looking car, especially in coupe form. The new Malibu looks better than anything Hyundai makes. They at least have some styling bright spots.
I just don't the appeal in the Azera, with its Lincoln-esque rear styling for the tail lamp or the Genesis with its strange grille that would look more at home on a $10,000 Chinese car.
flyhigh 12:50AM (1/31/2008)
Ironically, the designer of the new Malibu is Korean.
Dave B 6:45PM (1/28/2008)
my mom has an (I believe) 02 SantaFe, she loves the thing. never had any problems with it, nothing. my sister had an accent then got a sonata and she liked both. if the genesis coupe comes out and looks somewhat like the concept there will be one more hyundai in the family and i'll be behind the wheel. although i have a feeeling when the coupe comes out it won't look anything like the concept, and if that happens I'll just buy something else.
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LeRobert 9:20PM (1/28/2008)
Volume, volume, volume... Why are car companies so often susceptible to this economic fallacy? More cars shipped doesn't necessarily mean more profits earned: so why are there always these meaningless sales goals?
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JustJoe 3:57AM (1/29/2008)
Because Hyundai will never be an exclusive and unattainable (for the masses) marque, their only alternative is to grow the company. Volume, volume, volume leads to (and also comes from) conquest, conquest, conquest (sales) and, if they play their cards right, increased owner loyalty (further cemented by giving their customers an upgrade path via their own products) . And the cycle repeats itself and they grow even more. See the origins of Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota. If Hyundai sticks with it, they too can be truly huge.
Alex Park 1:22AM (1/29/2008)
"Hyundai has a refreshed Sonata and the new Genesis coming in the spring, and the Genesis coupe and Elantra Touring coming later this year.."
I think they meant coming spring 09, and as for the coupe and elantra, late 09.
am i wrong?
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Tagg 3:29AM (1/29/2008)
My thoughts exactly. Any one of the major automakers could be the number one company in the world if they used enough incentives. GM seems hell bent on making the Silverado the best selling truck next year by over producing and piling huge incentives to move them all while breaking even r losing money on many trucks sold.
Toyota never seemed as interested in the volume game but profits instead. That happens to be what Ford is shooting for now and will probably give up the F-150's sales crown to do so. Short term it may look bad but long term it is a much better strategy.
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Used Cars 5:11AM (1/29/2008)
Hyundai has a huge number of cars all over the world. And I bet this will continue, Just wonder if Hyundai will dominate the car market in 2008.
http://cars.ozfreeonline.com
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Richard Warren 6:20AM (1/29/2008)
"Volume, volume, volume... Why are car companies so often susceptible to this economic fallacy? More cars shipped doesn't necessarily mean more profits earned: so why are there always these meaningless sales goals?"
Well it served GM, Ford, Chrysler well for many years, it seems to be serving Toyota well. The biggest volume retailer seems to be doing OK.
Volume always counts, better to set your target number high and strive for than set it low and sandbag the result.
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shoe007 6:04PM (1/29/2008)
I think Hyundai is one of the most interesting and promising companies out there. In many cases they have done what the Japanese did in 1/3rd the time. Their next few moves are extremely important though. While I am excited for the company when I see vehicles like the Genisis, I am not personally in the market to buy one(nor is just about anyone I know).
While halo cars are important I think it would do Hyundai well to expand its line up in more practical directions (small size truck making a comeback anyone). They always seem to be so close, but not something I end up buying.
I seriously looked at the Tiburon in 2003 cause I thought it was a very cool looking car, but I drove and felt just as choppy, loose, and underpowered as the '94 Probe GT I had years before. Now many moons later they still have the virtually the same car with the same engines. A little innovation would be nice.
On that occasion it was the dealer that turned me off of the brand when they begged me to take it off the lot. You don't build value in a car by coming out of the gate showing a $5000 discount off of the sticker price.
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Juan 6:26PM (1/29/2008)
Whoa $5,000 off? Hell. I would be driving a Tiburon if I got that offer...
Bill 1:29PM (1/29/2008)
Automakers chase volume because success begets success in this industry. When people see others driving a certain vehicle, no matter how bland, they cannot help but consider the vehicle the next time around. As sad as it is, people are lemmings and tend to buy what others buy. Now to chase down the volume is the hard part, Toyota did it with quality, Honda with their reliable/tech image, etc...
Hyundai is in a good position to be a disruptive force in the automotive industry. However, no matter how much they spend on their marketing activities, they are digging themsevles out of a hole due to their negative brand equity.
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Playdrv4me 3:32PM (1/29/2008)
Hyundais, like everything else out of Korea (Samsung absolutely raping Sony comes to mind) is constantly and RAPIDLY evolving to a shell of its former self.
My mom, who beats cars to death had a 2000 Hyundai Elantra she bought new in 2000. After 2 accidents, only occasional maintenance, and little else in the way of care, the car had not a single problem when I sold it a couple of years ago outside of a bad plug wire once. Even the interior held up better than alot of domestics I've owned.
What Hyundai needs to concentrate on now is maintaining a steady and cohesive brand image. You look at Hyundais from 5 years ago, and Hyundais today, and the look like completely different brands altogether. You will never build brand recognition if people dont know what the hell they're looking at.
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gyozadumpling 10:28AM (1/30/2008)
Okay, let me explain one thing about styling of a car. What Hyundai wants is recognition. 7 out of 10 people wants blend styling, what I mean is nothing fleshy honda or toyata which has good reputation that they don't have to explain why they bought this brand. Other, 3 goes for mazda or nissan for there different styling but for a car company there is way less customer in this category. For hyundai is simple economic, there are way more customer in blend category which they could make whole a lot of money in numbers game. In 2007, Hyundai made 3 billion in sales.
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