Sales seem to be doing ok on everything but the Genesis coupe (39,000 sold since '09 per this Washington Post story).
"John Krafcik, Hyundai's U.S. sales chief, has yet to announce a sales goal for the year. Instead, the company is focused on improving quality and the brand's reputation, he said in a Jan. 5 phone interview.
Hyundai's U.S. sales climbed 20 percent to a record 645,691 vehicles last year. The company's market share increased to 5.1 percent in 2011 from 3 percent in 2008."
Must not be selling them in my region...here sedans have to outnumber coupes 10:1. It should have another name - I don't believe the cheaper and non luxurious coupe is on the same footing as the posher sedan - and the big mouth bass theme from the hybrid Sonata isn't pretty either. I think Schreyer is on loan from Kia. The weird beltline has aged fine anyway.
Elantra offers so much car for so little money. Stylish. Roomy. Inexpensive. Well equipped. Great warranty. Good fuel economy. Hyundai helped by Honda, Toyota, and Nissan playing it safe and boring for past few years. But Hyundai will have to work even harder in future as Detroit finally waking up in this market.
I swear they said they were gonna have a Elantra Coupe at the Detroit Auto Show. The new Genesis was introduced in LA , and they even had spy shots of the new coupe an stated it would be in Detroit. Any one else heard that. Also, I noticed that Motor Trend hasn't said a word about about the Elantra being voted the NACOTY. Guess their kinda biased, seeing they chose the VW Passet.
Mike Auto Express has the I 30 Elantra thats being delivered to the UK.I saw the interior and it's like the limited. The have in diesal The I 10 I20 and I 30The other two are for small prople.!.2 Diesals. I like that site. I signed on took Harry for a name . All I could think of was Harry Potter.I wonder what the pound is compared to a dollar. I'll Google. Have a good one Pufiin 1
Of course not having a fleet of V8 gass guzzling trucks (like some others) helps out greatly here but still, this is just another feather in the Hyundai Cap and a BIG ONE IMO.
"By moving upscale with its product line, CNW mentioned Hyundai has seen the age of primary drivers climb 12.6 percent — “on purpose,” according to Spinella.
Now at 42.4 years, “it remains among the youngest brands, but is now in the demographic sweet spot,” he added."
"Hyundai Motor Co. plans to hire 877 more workers to add a third shift at its Montgomery, Ala., assembly plant so it can crank out more Sonata midsize cars and Elantra compacts."
With 3 shifts, and the plant working almost around the clock, the Hyundai factory will probably be able to make about 400,000 cars in 2013, which will be up from the record of c. 340,000 in 2012. I think the original design of the factory called for a capacity of about 250,000. In other words, this is pretty impressive...
Interesting. I guess the losses on Rover probably explain why BMW doesn't buy Mazda to get its tech and have a third brand in the US.
I think it's possible that someday Mini could become a bigger volume brand here, maybe even with its own factory in the US. But right now even with its problems I think Mazda might even outsell BMW in terms of numbers. Of course Mazda is losing money on every car they sell, it seems like, and so making it up with volume is not exactly working for them.
I'm surprised that Hyundai has not yet announced its next factory here. Clearly they need it.
Thanks for that Steve. But I find myself scratching my head on this one.
1. Let's get real. Kia is Hyundai. The reason they can't "get no respect" is because only one in a million people know this. They still think Kia is a different car company. If people knew it was the same car company, their market share would naturally go up in today's Hyundai frenzied atmosphere. 2. Trying to find a Kia dealership isn't easy. As such, people likely view the car as unattainable since the dealership isn't around the corner for any potential warranty work, given Hyundai's long warranty protection.
As for the BMW post, this is a real head shaker. What am I missing here? Why would Hyundai want to be involved with a poor quality company like BMW? Is there something wrong with Hyundai's engines that they would want to align themselves with a company that can't produce a quality car other than the occational one and three series?
Hyundai/Kia is quite the setup. Reminds me of what would have happened if the US had made Ford take over GM during the recent troubles. Yeah, Kia and Hyundai are the "same company" but there sure doesn't seem to be any love lost between the two of them, much less any synergy.
Wikipedia reminds me that Hyundai outbid Ford for Kia during Kia's bankruptcy, and Hyundai wound up with a 51% share. Other reports I've read over the years indicate that the Korean government made Hyundai outbid Ford.
"The French government accused Korean car makers Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motor Co. of dumping as their sales are rising, while local manufacturers see their market shares dwindling.
"The two brands Hyundai and Kia are competing with our manufacturers in unacceptable conditions of dumping," said Arnaud Montebourg, who leads the industry ministry and renamed it the ministry for "productive recovery."
well, short of signing up for the WSJ so I can read the article (which I won't do), I can tell you that I have owned two Renaults during the 80's. Both (Alliance and Encore) were 4 year disposable cars. So many critical components failed after that time that one could never feel safe driving them. The engines however were gold. They were the lowest poluting engines on the market at that time and were very reliable. I'm not sure what Nissan will gain from their partnership, but I'm hopeful nonetheless. As for dumping, I can't hear the violins. I'm very impressed with Hyundai's performance over the past 5 years. Renault needs to either start outperforming their competition or start competing with Mitsubishi for air conditioner and large screen TV sales. :P
"Hyundai Motor Group's Hyundai and Kia units overstated the fuel economy of about 900,000 vehicles sold in the U.S. since late 2010, the company said Friday, citing an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
It said it will compensate U.S. buyers for the difference."
"U.S. consumers have become less willing to buy cars from Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors Corp since the South Korean automakers admitted overstating the fuel economy of some of their vehicles, data from Edmunds.com showed.
The "purchase intent" for Hyundai's top-selling Elantra compact fell to 6.3 percent as of November 18 from 6.7 percent on October 28, according to the data from Edmunds.com, an auto consultant and consumer website."
The chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee wants Hyundai Motors Co. and Kia Motors to answer questions about plans to compensate 900,000 owners after the companies admitted overstating estimated gas mileage.
"While I believe this [debit card program] is a positive step, I am concerned that many affected customers may not learn about the program, or may find it burdensome to participate in the program," said Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., who oversees the panel that deals with auto issues.
"Free-trade deals that have halved tariffs on foreign cars here helped push up imported autos to 10% of sales for the first time last year, up from less than 2% a decade ago, while Hyundai's domestic sales fell for the first time since the global financial crisis in 2008."
"Hyundai, always quick to jump on breaking news, has come up with a smart way to tap into sympathy for furloughed federal workers.
It says it is launching a payment deferral program for those who aren't working because of the government shutdown. Hyundai says it will extend auto loan and lease payments during the shutdown for current Hyundai owners who are furloughed."
Comments
That thing won't be winning any design awards, anyway.
The Genesis has been facelifted for 2013:
Video: Hyundai Previews 2013 Genesis Coupe (Straightline)
More details will be coming this morning on it.
Not too dramatic of a facelift...coupe should have another name, IMO
"John Krafcik, Hyundai's U.S. sales chief, has yet to announce a sales goal for the year. Instead, the company is focused on improving quality and the brand's reputation, he said in a Jan. 5 phone interview.
Hyundai's U.S. sales climbed 20 percent to a record 645,691 vehicles last year. The company's market share increased to 5.1 percent in 2011 from 3 percent in 2008."
Hyundai Wins Top Car for Second Time After Record U.S. Sales (businessweek.com)
Puffin 1 now. :shades:
I like that site. I signed on took Harry for a name . All I could think of was Harry Potter.I wonder what the pound is compared to a dollar. I'll Google.
Have a good one Pufiin 1
Of course not having a fleet of V8 gass guzzling trucks (like some others) helps out greatly here but still, this is just another feather in the Hyundai Cap and a BIG ONE IMO.
Kudos. :shades:
Now at 42.4 years, “it remains among the youngest brands, but is now in the demographic sweet spot,” he added."
Primary Drivers’ Median Age Tells a Tale (autoremarketing.com)
"It only takes one small mistake with a critical part in a safety-related system to derail all of the good work that we've done," he says."
How Hyundai went from joke to contender in US (AP)
Hyundai to add 877 jobs at Alabama plant (AP)
Kia is still the Eli in the equation. Hyundai just isn't making many missteps lately.
Kia Fastest-Growing U.S. Brand Suffers in Hyundai Shadow (Bloomberg)
I think it's possible that someday Mini could become a bigger volume brand here, maybe even with its own factory in the US. But right now even with its problems I think Mazda might even outsell BMW in terms of numbers. Of course Mazda is losing money on every car they sell, it seems like, and so making it up with volume is not exactly working for them.
I'm surprised that Hyundai has not yet announced its next factory here. Clearly they need it.
1. Let's get real. Kia is Hyundai. The reason they can't "get no respect" is because only one in a million people know this. They still think Kia is a different car company. If people knew it was the same car company, their market share would naturally go up in today's Hyundai frenzied atmosphere.
2. Trying to find a Kia dealership isn't easy. As such, people likely view the car as unattainable since the dealership isn't around the corner for any potential warranty work, given Hyundai's long warranty protection.
As for the BMW post, this is a real head shaker. What am I missing here? Why would Hyundai want to be involved with a poor quality company like BMW? Is there something wrong with Hyundai's engines that they would want to align themselves with a company that can't produce a quality car other than the occational one and three series?
Hyundai/Kia is quite the setup. Reminds me of what would have happened if the US had made Ford take over GM during the recent troubles. Yeah, Kia and Hyundai are the "same company" but there sure doesn't seem to be any love lost between the two of them, much less any synergy.
Wikipedia reminds me that Hyundai outbid Ford for Kia during Kia's bankruptcy, and Hyundai wound up with a 51% share. Other reports I've read over the years indicate that the Korean government made Hyundai outbid Ford.
"The two brands Hyundai and Kia are competing with our manufacturers in unacceptable conditions of dumping," said Arnaud Montebourg, who leads the industry ministry and renamed it the ministry for "productive recovery."
France Accuses Hyundai of Dumping (WSJ)
(But you didn't hear that from me.
It said it will compensate U.S. buyers for the difference."
Hyundai Retreats on Fuel-Economy Claims (Wall St. Journal)
http://hyundaimpginfo.com
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/02/hyundai-kia-admit-exaggerated-mileage-claims-- will-compensate-o/
The Elantra drops to 38mpg highway.
The "purchase intent" for Hyundai's top-selling Elantra compact fell to 6.3 percent as of November 18 from 6.7 percent on October 28, according to the data from Edmunds.com, an auto consultant and consumer website."
U.S. consumers less willing to buy Hyundai, Kia after mileage woes (Chigago Tribune)
Hyundai has to be careful about 2 things:
* watch quality as production output increases
* don't get arrogant, instead apply continuous improvement
"While I believe this [debit card program] is a positive step, I am concerned that many affected customers may not learn about the program, or may find it burdensome to participate in the program," said Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., who oversees the panel that deals with auto issues.
Senator wants answers on Hyundai, Kia gas mileage discrepancies (Detroit News)
Elantra gets and EPA combined of 32 yet owners on the EPA site report 28.9 average.
But...C Max is rated 47mpg and they average 40.5.
So Hyundai is being crucified for being off by 9.7%.
Ford off by 13.8%. Will they be investigated?
If anything a hybrid buyer is far MORE concerned about fuel economy, and those buyers paid a lot more for their cars.
On a different note, interesting factoid came up in another thread - Optima+Sonata sales combined beat even the Camry.
Wow.
Looks like they basically added LEDs to the old one.
Hyundai Is Dented in Korea (Wall St. Journal)
It says it is launching a payment deferral program for those who aren't working because of the government shutdown. Hyundai says it will extend auto loan and lease payments during the shutdown for current Hyundai owners who are furloughed."
Hyundai gives loan breaks to idled federal workers (USA Today)
I see it as a knockoff Lexus LS, myself.