One man's loss is another man's gain. The same notion can be applied to the automotive marketplace, where bad press for one brand presents an opportune time to capitalize for another. A new Bloomberg puts forth a potential automotive example of this – fallout stemming from the recent Hyundai and Kia fuel economy debacle. The Korean automakers were recently marred for incorrectly calculating their fuel economy data, resulting in the downward adjustment of the fuel economy figures for many of their most popular models.
While this represents a setback for Kia and Hyundai, brands like Toyota and Honda are looking to gain ground on the two Korean marques, which have been catching up to Japan's volume automakers thanks to their radically improved lineups.
In 2010, Hyundai began touting its lineup as the most fuel-efficient in America. This stirred emotions at Honda, a brand that had been the nation's top performer in fuel economy for 33 years. With this recent adjustment by Hyundai, Honda is evidently hoping to wear the fuel efficiency crown once again.
According to the report, the Korean automakers' errors came in the EPA's "coastdown" test, in which a test car is driven to 80 mph, put in neutral and "coasted" to 9 mph. Hyundai admits this part of the test was not performed correctly. According to Sung Hwan Cho, president of Hyundai's US technical center, "These were just honest procedure errors in a very complex testing process."
Adding to Honda's opportunity is the recently previewed 2013 Honda Civic, set to go on sale the same day it is revealed at this month's LA Motor Show. The 2012 model came in for harsh criticism from the automotive press, though the model's sales proved largely unaffected by the controversy. Industry analysts suggest that Honda's new (and presumably improved) 2013 Civic should put the automaker in prime position to reclaim both consumer mindshare and the industry's MPG crown.
While this represents a setback for Kia and Hyundai, brands like Toyota and Honda are looking to gain ground on the two Korean marques, which have been catching up to Japan's volume automakers thanks to their radically improved lineups.
In 2010, Hyundai began touting its lineup as the most fuel-efficient in America. This stirred emotions at Honda, a brand that had been the nation's top performer in fuel economy for 33 years. With this recent adjustment by Hyundai, Honda is evidently hoping to wear the fuel efficiency crown once again.
According to the report, the Korean automakers' errors came in the EPA's "coastdown" test, in which a test car is driven to 80 mph, put in neutral and "coasted" to 9 mph. Hyundai admits this part of the test was not performed correctly. According to Sung Hwan Cho, president of Hyundai's US technical center, "These were just honest procedure errors in a very complex testing process."
Adding to Honda's opportunity is the recently previewed 2013 Honda Civic, set to go on sale the same day it is revealed at this month's LA Motor Show. The 2012 model came in for harsh criticism from the automotive press, though the model's sales proved largely unaffected by the controversy. Industry analysts suggest that Honda's new (and presumably improved) 2013 Civic should put the automaker in prime position to reclaim both consumer mindshare and the industry's MPG crown.
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