Hyundai to slow production of Santa Fe, Sonata
A 15-percent drop in Sonata sales since the beginning of 2008 is one reason Hyundai will idle its Alabama plant for 11 days between now and the end of the year (the near-2-percent drop in Santa Fe sales didn't help either). According to Hyundai Motor Company officials, the current sales slump and future sales projections of both models warrant the assembly slowdown. To limit the financial impact on the plant's workers, Hyundai will schedule the days on Fridays, and around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Hyundai also added, "We will continue to monitor the situation closely and hope that the economic conditions affecting our industry will soon normalize and allow us to return to a full production schedule as soon as possible." You and everybody else.
Gallery: Hyundai Santa Fe Limited (UK)
Gallery: First Drive: 2009 Hyundai Sonata
[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
joe97 3:49PM (10/19/2008)
Autoblog, you have your figures reversed, or AN does. The Sonata is off by about 2% YTD in US sales, while the Santa Fe is off by double digits. Common sense tell me so w/o looking up actual figures.
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Gabagool 4:39PM (10/19/2008)
Exactly what i wanted to say. Why would Sonata be off by that much.
joe97 5:01PM (10/19/2008)
Got the actual figures:
Sonata US YTD (through September):
97,442 (2008) | 99,358 (2007)
Santa Fe US YTD (through September):
56,629 (2008) | 70,005 (2007)
I expect the Sonata to surpass 2007 figures this month and through the end of the year, as consumers move away from large vehicles and into smaller ones/those with good fuel economy.
Accent and Elantra are all up fairly significant so far this year so I expect the Sonata to follow this trend.
Conundrum 10:13PM (10/19/2008)
Hyundai small car sales are up for the year but Elantra sales tanked in September to about 1/2 the number sold in 2007. Not a good sign that production lines will kep churning at full steam.
The Veracruz, Tucson, Azera, Tiburon, and Entourage are all down catostrophically in Sept 2008 vs. Sept 2007. I expect to hear more of the same news in the near future.
The only thing keeping Hyundai from showing 50% losses across the board in Sept. sales, was the slight increase in Sonata sales and the 1,029 new Genesis sales.
tekd 10:30PM (10/19/2008)
Thanks for posting this...it makes so much more sense this way-I couldn't quite figure out why their fuel efficient sedan would have tanked 15% while the SUV version did better.
BigWill 8:22AM (10/20/2008)
"Hyundai small car sales are up for the year but Elantra sales tanked in September to about 1/2 the number sold in 2007. "
A big part of the reason for that is that the Elantra is in short supply; the SE started selling out everywhere when it became the Consumer Reports top pick, and the 2009 Elantra isn't available yet. One dealer near me has been sold out of Elantras for a few weeks.
tankd0g 3:53PM (10/19/2008)
As cut backs go, making it into long weeks is a nice way to do it.
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john riley 4:02PM (10/19/2008)
Where is the Elantra Touring?
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Torrent 4:59PM (10/19/2008)
idk I'm guessing we'll have it by December or very early next year....
Cardude 4:45PM (10/19/2008)
The Sonata is a nice little car. The Santa Fe is crap.
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Torrent 5:00PM (10/19/2008)
Not really crap. It's a good looking vehicle and everything about it is great, but it just lags behind the competition for a reason that is unknown to me...
joe97 5:05PM (10/19/2008)
The Sonata is hardly a little car. It's actually a large car per EPA.
The Santa Fe is a very good CUV. I don't think it's behind the competition in any regards. It has always been the volume mover for Hyundai in the CUV/SUV category. This drop-off this year had nothing to do with the product itself but environment beyond Hyundai's control - this is happening all across, so Hyundai certainly isn't the only one suffering.
Maestro_Mario 5:25PM (10/19/2008)
They totally screw-up the SantaFe redesign by making it bigger, heavier, more thirsty and pricy.
I dont know for the states, but in Canada Hyundai's are often more expensive than comparably equipped japanese competitors. You can't ask more for margarin than butter...
Robert 5:03PM (10/19/2008)
Well, regardless of the drop YTD, the fact that rental companies are not going to be buying a lot of cars in the near future, Hyundai is going to lose a big sales channel for both vehicles.
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Pips 1:17AM (10/20/2008)
Actually, the Sonata is a very good mid-size car. I once drove a loaded Sonata 4 banger as a rental; it gave me an excellent impression! I took it for a long trip and found it was very quiet, smooth (despite its a 4 banger, smooth like a V6) and consumed very little gas along the way. To be honest I think the Sonata is as good as a Camry in term of drivability and comfort. Anyhow, i guess tough time ahead, everyone hurts!
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hyundaifans.com 1:19AM (10/21/2008)
I agree.