Will Sonata's new name reduce resale value of old name?

kauri

Sonata is being renamed i45. Some parts of the world now have only i45. The Sonata name is gone. Is the new name i45 coming to US soon? Would the new name reduce the resale value of the current Sonata model? Thinking of getting a Sonata. Recently being some other countries. The Sonata name is gone, replaced by i45.

backy

IMO you don't have to worry about Hyundai retiring the Sonata name, in the US at least. The only reason Hyundai would do that is if the name had a negative connotation. But the Sonata is more popular than ever, selling in record numbers. Unlikely Hyundai would throw all that away. Realize that Hyundai has used different naming schemes in different countries for a long time, e.g. Elantra is Avante in the ROK etc.

dg0472

The only countries getting the car as the i45 are Australia and New Zealand, to keep them more consistent with Europe, which will get a smaller version called the i40. Other countries are keeping the Sonata name.

kauri

Some other countries in SE Asia have the i45 instead of Sonata NOW. All the changes started from the new 2011 models. In all those countries, the 2010 models are still called Sonata. I wonder if the i45 would start to replace the Sonata name in mass for the next year. I heard that the company would start using the "i" name for most of its vehicles in the coming years. By the way, I was told "i" stands for Design.

backy

I heard that the company would start using the "i" name for most of its vehicles in the coming years.

Source?

nj2pa2nc

Other car makers have different names for their cars in the US than other countries. My tsx is a accord-I doubt hyundai would change the sonata name. Kinda like what ford did to taurus-the switched it to a number and then put taurus back.

kauri

It's from more than one dealerships (not in the USA). Go around the world (on the Web), the "i" names are popping up everywhere for different Hyundai Cars. I choose to believe it. It is happening now in a lot of countries. Dont tell the USA is that special. Google it, Hyundai executives or dealers even said the name change boosted sales.

I would like to get a Sonata and am asking the simple question " Will the name change of the name reduces the resale value?". I choose to believe that the name change would come to the USA, if its showing good sales in the other countries. In fact, I like the name i45 better that Sonata.

Thanks for commenting

atlanticone

Hyundai is not changing the name of the Sonata or any of the other vehicles sold in the US under their current names. Lets squash this now please.

kauri

Is this an official statemet from Hyundai? For how long?

atlanticone

As the largest Hyundai dealership in the US, I can guarantee it.

kauri

Your guarantee on this one is not worth much, I'm afraid.

A question to you please, if the i45 name replaced the Sonata name, would the resale value be reduced? Thank you.

I like "i45" better than Sonata. I'm sure that a lot of people agree with me.

atlanticone

Only time will tell then....

kauri

I would agree with you on ONLY TIME WILL TELL ... It's an unknow. However, I do believe that the name change would boost the sales and reduce the resale value of the old name name.

Kirstie_H

I'm not an owner, but I happen to disagree for the U.S. market.

In some countries, it's kind of weird to name a model after an animal or inanimate object, like we've seen in the U.S. Those vehicles get a different name elsewhere.

In the U.S., there are few brands sold with a combo of letters/numbers, but it's popular elsewhere. Right now, I can only think of a couple of European brands and Infiniti that use a letter/number combo as the model name.

It'd be a little odd for Hyundai to change the name of a high-selling model for no particular reason - the last few times it's been done, it seems to have been because the model has acquired a negative consumer image. I'm not saying it WON'T happen... I'm saying I don't see any reason why they would, or what benefit it would bring to them that they aren't already reaping.

On a side note - atlanticone, have you had a chance to join our other salespeople in the Sales Frontlines discussion? If not, they'd certainly love to have you there too.

kauri

1St, The euro cars are doing alright in the the US. The Toyota has Lexus with all the numbers. If you take the cue, Hyundai may want to move up with the number. As stated, I do like i45 better than Sonata. I do think Hyundai would sale mor if they change the name, as they more up. hey, its a simple question "Would a new name reduce the resale value of the OLD NAME?" When you are trying to tell me that the name change would not happens, Based on the reponses on this thread, I choose that it would reduce the resale value.

Good on you mate!!!

backy

i45 reminds me of a freeway in Texas. Not a car. What does "45" mean, anyway? At least when other automakers use letters and numbers, they tend to have a meaning, e.g. a letter designating the type of car, and a number that is at least somewhat related to the engine size. i45 has no such meaning.

Maybe the question you should be asking is, will a name change cause a reduction in sales because the new name sucks?

Judging by the rate at which consumers are snapping up Sonatas in the U.S., I really don't think you need to fear: 1) a name change, and 2) any drop in resale value of the Sonata should the name be changed. Which won't happen. Hyundai is run by smart people, who tend to make logical, rational decisions. Changing the name of the Sonata in the U.S. is neither logical nor rational.

kauri

Well, some people including ME think "i45" is cool. And the people in some other cuntoriesse do think like me. I like the name "i45" better than "Sonata". Cna you tell me what is Sonata mean? Well. 1st) I dont think that when Sonata moves up, the name change would boost sales. 2nd) The name change would reduce the resale value. If the Sonota is called "i45" at the same price, I would buy it today.

Kirstie_H

But see, you're writing from a different perspective - you're not writing from the perspective of the U.S. market. You're writing from the perspective of another country, insisting that a name change is beneficial for the U.S. market.

Yes, we all know what "sonata" means. It is a particular piece of music, generally written in 3 movements. I've known this since the age of 5, when I started music.

As to your question about whether a name change would HURT the brand in the U.S., I don't know. No one does. But if you're looking at the pure numbers indicating that the Sonata has increased sales, what incentive does the manufacturer have to change the name? What potential benefit, apart from the fact that you, personally, think it is cool, do they have? OK, they have one consumer now on record.

What if I post that I think they should change the name to Hyundai Dirtbomb, and that I'd buy one in a heartbeat if they changed the name? That pretty much evens the score to 1 & 1 for a name change (though different) and really a lot more who aren't interested. Saying "a lot of my friends think the U.S. should change the name" isn't a statistically valid method of survey.

kauri

You think that I'm writing from a different perspective. Not really !!!. I've met people in the following cats on the web.

1) I'dont anything about Hyundai, but recenty good review. Never own a Sonota. Dont care.

2) Own Sonata curreent. Cant help. Let it be.

3) Likely owner, like meselft, thinking ,,,,,,,,,,,

tidalwave

Yes, I believe a name change will hurt the resale value of the existing Sonata.

cincyhoya

Just my two cents - I follow cars news pretty closely and never heard a peep about a US name change - not on any Hyundai board or the ThinkTank, so I'd guess not likely in the next year or two. As others mentioned, I think Hyundai will go the Honda / Toyota / Ford route of the same model with different names in different countries.

If one was to assume there was a change, I don't know what it would do. In the US, the only vehicles that use this type of nomenclature usually refer to displacement (i.e. Lexus ES 350 = 3.5L V6, Infiniti M45 = 4.5L V8), so I don't know how well this would work. That, plus the fact that it does sound like an interstate, wouldn't help. I guess you could point to say the Mazda6 or Audit A6, but in both bases, that's part of an overall lineup numbering system. If Hyundai was to rename everything top to bottom, yes, it would hurt resale value just on recognition alone. Perhaps it could work for the brand as a whole as part of a move of the Hyundai brand upstream and Kia mainstream. I'd guess if you were going to hold the car 3 years and it changed to i45 after 2, you'd have a decent size impact, but if you're going to hold for 5 years, probably not much of one at that point.

It actually makes sense in the long run to go to a global system, but to me it would seem to make a heck of a lot more sense to do this when the next generation is launched rather than to change names after all of the markets and press buzz.

Personally, I don't mind the letter/number thing, but it can make it hard for a non-enthusiast to know what you're talking about. I actually like the name Sonata due to what the name evokes, though I'm not a fan of Elantra, Azera (what do those mean) or Accent (accenting what? lack of budget?).

LASHAWN

I think that if you want a Hyundai Sonata to read i45 on the back of it, than you should just remove the Sonata badge and replace it with the i45 badge. Then you would have your Hyundai i45 while everyone else has a Hyundai Sonata. There, nuff said.

abigmutt

I think that if you want a Hyundai Sonata to read i45 on the back of it, than you should just remove the Sonata badge and replace it with the i45 badge. Then you would have your Hyundai i45 while everyone else has a Hyundai Sonata. There, nuff said.

I was in Australia and New Zealand during the summer, just after I had bought my Sonata here in the U.S.
So being curious, naturally I went to Hyundai dealerships in both countries, and in New Zealand I drove an i45.
First: rebadging a Sonata with i45 does not make it one: there are MANY differences in the i45, including U.S. options not available on the i45, as well as standard items NOT available in the U.S.
The "i" designations is not new for Hyundai: there are previous models called i30 and i35 and so on. They are not "Sonatas" but rather smaller Hyundai models.
.
Got large, full-color brochures on the i45 from both countries, and both are quite different from each other, as well as different from the U.S. brochure.
Hyundai clearly has very different marketing strategies for every country, evidenced by the totally-different "sunroof" that the models have downunder. (they call it a "panorama glass roof").
Warranties and prices are totally different from here in the U.S.
.
BTW, for those readers here that are dying to change the name to i45, the badge is available from any dealer for a little over $50, plus shipping if you aren't there in person to pick it up.
(but in my not-so-humble opinion, instead of wasting cosmetic dollars, spend a hundred bucks and get yourself a strut-tower brace and your handling will improve by 100%.)

bhmr59

With the sales gains the Sonata has made in the last couple years and especially this YTD, Hyundai would be stupid to change the name of the Sonata.

Hyundai is not stupid.

Kirstie_H

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