Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[How do you spell Hyundai's Kryptonite? J-D-M]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/29/how-do-you-spell-hyundais-kryptonite-j-d-m/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/29/how-do-you-spell-hyundais-kryptonite-j-d-m/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/11/29/how-do-you-spell-hyundais-kryptonite-j-d-m/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Hyundai pulls out of Japan market

As Hyundai continues to pull itself up by its bootstraps, the company is moving decisively and picking up share around the globe. However, one key market continues to be so problematic for the brand that they've decided to abandon it altogether: Japan. Rather than dodder around and wait for its disappointing performance to improve, Hyundai is tying off the bleeder that is the company's Japanese market presence. The cars themselves, either under Hyundai badging or as Kias, have become contenders in terms of styling and quality, two key indicators of the company's commitment. And the move into Japan was part of Hyundai's worldwide plan for expansion. For all its efforts, though, the famously insular market has deflected this outsider. In the eight years Hyundai has been selling vehicles in Japan, it has only managed to shift 15,000 units.

For all its efforts, 1,875 cars per year just isn't worth it to Hyundai, though it will still try to sell commercial vehicles to Japan. According to the South Korean daily, Chosun Iibo, tariffs are slapped on outsiders selling cars in Japan, and the size of some models Hyundai's been trying to market there doesn't match up with typical Japanese garages and parking spaces. Buyers who have the space for larger cars aren't the ones Hyundai's trying to nab, either. Those purchasers typically pursue higher-end metal.

Interestingly, rival Toyota might see Hyundai's move as a sort of victory. Toyota itself established a beachhead in the more-welcoming South Korean market in 2000, and has been selling thousands of vehicles there under its Lexus and Toyota nameplates. While Hyundai is giving up on Japan, Toyota's looking to move more cars than ever in South Korea.

[Sources: CNBC. Chosun]

How do you spell Hyundai's Kryptonite? J-D-M originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you haven't noticed, Hyundai's been on a multifaceted tear lately. Earlier this year, Hyundai came out with its Hyundai Assurance Program, letting customers return their cars if they suffered a loss of employment. CEO John Krafcik confirms that Hyundai Assurance is staying until the end of 2009, and its future beyond that is under serious scrutiny. Aside from its new models, the innovative car-return initiative was probably the biggest news to come out of Hyundai all year, and other automakers have followed suit with similar plans of their own.

While everyone else is down and the overall market has taken a 30% whack, Hyundai's U.S. sales are up 2% for the first nine months of this year.

Rather than rest on its laurels, Hyundai wants to further increase its sales. Turning over the cars it has to offer has made the Korean automaker's model mix relatively fresh, and word is they are going after America's fuel-economy crown, as well. While there is a hybrid Sonata on the way, the new model is probably not going to move Hyundai up from #3 in fuel efficiency all on its own (the automaker trails Toyota and Honda), so the rest of its fleet is reportedly getting a fine-toothed once over.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req.]

REPORT: Hyundai may extend Assurance program, go after fuel economy crown originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So far, Hyundai has been the only automaker in the U.S. to accept early trade-ins under the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), or Cash-for-Clunkers (CFC), program. Most are waiting for the U.S. Department of Transportation to finalize the program's rules and regulations by July 24th, but Hyundai decided to start early since the program covers all transactions dating back to July 1st. Since the government hasn't set up a reimbursement process for the rebates that range from $3,500 to $4,500 just yet, Hyundai is floating its participating dealers short-term loans in the meantime.

After just one week of accepting Cash-for-Clunkers trade-ins, Hyundai has revealed that these deals added up to 7 percent of its overall sales and could reach 10 percent by month's end. The most interesting statistics, however, are what's being traded in. While Hyundai doesn't break it down by model, according to its numbers, 32 percent were Ford vehicles, 23 percent Dodge and the rest were from Lexus, Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz. Keep in mind, all these customers are trading in for a Hyundai, and 41 percent chose the Elantra! The Sonata came in second with 29 percent of CFC sales and the Accent third with 16 percent.

Judging by this early report on how the CFC program affects sales, it will be very interesting to see what happens after the hammer drops on July 24th and all automakers begin participating. The effect on July sales will likely be small, so we'll have to wait until the end of August to see if Cash-for-Clunkers has really made a difference. For Hyundai, however, it already has.

[Source: Hyundai]

Continue reading Cash-for-Clunkers trade-ins account for 7 percent of Hyundai sales in first week

Cash-for-Clunkers trade-ins account for 7 percent of Hyundai sales in first week originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While most automakers are reporting double-digit drops in sales each month, Hyundai and Kia continue to swim against the current and maintain (or even increase) units sold. According to Automotive News, a significant part of their success is attributable to fleet sales - large numbers of cars going directly into rental and corporate fleets. During the first quarter of 2009 alone, more than 33 percent of Hyundai's first quarter sales of 95,854 units were fleet related. Rental car sales represented nearly 35 percent of Kia's sales during the same period.

There is nothing inherently wrong with fleet sales, but many in the industry see them as a historically-abused method to inflate numbers, an inaccurate reflection of actual showroom traffic, and a potential liability for residual values. "We accept the criticism that our fleet is up," Hyundai Motor America's sales boss Dave Zuchowski said when he addressed the issue. "But our retail share also is up and outperformed the industry."

Utilized heavily by the Detroit Three in the past, fleet sales are a double-edged sword. Automakers get a strong boost in sales when the vehicles are delivered, but then pay heavy consequences with an oversaturated segment when the cars are dumped back into the used car market. It will be interesting to see how the Korean sister brands will address this repercussion in the near future.

[Source: Automotive News - subs. req'd]

Hyundai and Kia seen using fleets to boost sales numbers originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Dave ZuchowskiDaveZuchowskifleetfleet salefleet salesFleetSaleFleetSalesHyundaiHyundai salesHyundaiSalesKiarental carsrental fleetsrental saleRentalCarsRentalFleetsRentalSaleMon, 13 Apr 2009 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Hyundai resets its sights on 500,000 units in 2008]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/28/hyundai-resets-its-sights-on-500-000-units-in-2008/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/28/hyundai-resets-its-sights-on-500-000-units-in-2008/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/28/hyundai-resets-its-sights-on-500-000-units-in-2008/#commentsFiled under: ,

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.]

Hyundai resets its sights on 500,000 units in 2008 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyundai announced today that it has passed the five million sales milestone in the U.S. since entering the market a little over two decades ago. During that time, Hyundai has transformed itself from a cheap and shoddy import brand into one that can rival industry leader Toyota for reliability, and is now on track to reach its goal of being the fifth largest automaker in the world by the end of the decade.

The first Hyundai to be sold in the U.S. was the Excel compact, which arrived back in 1986. Hyundai was unprepared for the levels of sales its Excel would enjoy, and consequently couldn't provide adequate service for its rapidly growing customer base. This led to the company being stereotyped as the maker of unreliable cars, but this all changed at the turn of the century when Chairman Chung Mong-koo made quality a key priority.

Today, Hyundai is manufacturing cars in the U.S. and Europe and is on target to reach 550,000 sales in America for this year. Recently, products like the new Veracruz and Santa Fe have shown just how far Hyundai has come. Next up is the Genesis luxury sedan and a rear-wheel-drive coupe.

[Source: Detroit News]

Hyundai reaches 5 million cars in the US originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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