Together with the other videos, it’s meant to create the impression of a performance brand.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Hyundai's Super Bowl Strategy: Hungry But Humble
Wherever you look, Hyundai is racking up big gains in sales, quality and in many cases market share. While top management of the Korean chaebol that owns the Hyundai brand has predicted slower sales growth for Hyundai this year than last year, the reasons mostly have to do with limits on production capacity worldwide and other self-imposed restraints, such as a desire to further boost quality, than with any kind of slacking in demand for Hyundai vehicles.
in the U.S. market, Hyundai continues to be bolstered by rising sales and market share; the opportunity to continue to steal sales from Toyota and Honda as those brands try to re-attain earlier levels of inventory; new products like the 2012 Elantra, the North American Car of the Year; and the gung-ho attitude of Hyundai of America CEO John Krafcik. "We're an ambitious company," Krafcik told brandchannel. "We're hungry, but we try to stay humble as well."
That's difficult to do when Hyundai can sell practically every vehicle it makes for the American market, is stealing market share from every major competitor, and even seems to be succeeding in Krafcik's bold move to stretch the Hyundai brand upscale with vehicles such as up-to-$47,000 Genesis and the $59,000 Equus, even while the $15,000 Elantra continues to anchor its product lineup.
In its biggest marketing push yet, Hyundai is getting ready for a bigger-than-ever Super Bowl this year, with the first of three spots airing just before kick-off on February 5th. The automaker is stepping carefully as it builds pre-game buzz, following the FTC's admonition to be mindful of disclosures following a pre-Super Bowl social campaign with bloggers.
It's possible Hyundai will come back to the pack a bit as Toyota and Honda cement their recovery this year, as Volkswagen continues to compete more stiffly in the U.S. market, and as the American Big Three try to hold on to their recent gains in the small-car market.
Indeed, Hyundai remains and, if possible, is growing even more ascendant outside its home turf around the world. Sales in China are keeping Hyundai among the most robust foreign-owned brands in the world's largest auto market. Hyundai is opening a plant and goosing sales in Brazil. And even in Europe, while Europe-based automakers struggle in the bottom half of the market, Hyundai's sales rose by 12 percent last year while those of Volkswagen, the Germany-based arch-rival to Hyundai in mainstream product segments, rose by just 9 percent.
"Hyundai is one of VW's most serious challengers" in Europe, Stefan Bratzel, a leading German academic expert on the European auto industry, told Automotive News Europe. "The mix of good value, quality and design is a solid basis, and they've been getting more innovative every year."
Source: brandchannel.com
Monday, January 23, 2012
Friday, January 20, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Hyundai tops in keeping customers
Quality, resale value and ownership costs are key reasons consumers switch vehicle brands, says a new study by J.D. Power and Associates.
According to the report, one in three people who switched brands when buying a new car said their previous brand didn't make the type of vehicle they wanted.
Other reasons for dissatisfaction with a previous vehicle included high prices to own or maintain the vehicle, too many problems with it and insufficient resale value.
"Many automotive brands are expanding their array of models in an attempt to capture more buyers, but this isn't enough in and of itself," said Raffi Festekjian, director of automotive product research. "Manufacturers need to integrate specific attributes and features that delight vehicle owners to maximize their opportunity to both retain customers and conquest from other brands. Manufacturers also must ensure owners are satisfied with the quality, residual values and ownership costs of their vehicles."
Hyundai ranked highest in retaining new vehicle customers and raised its retention rate by four percentage points from 2010 to 64 per cent in 2012. The retention rate is primarily driven by the Elantra and Sonata.
In a tie for second place were Ford and Honda, with a retention rate of 60 per cent. Jeep posted the greatest improvement rate, improving by 17 percentage points to 51 per cent.
Source: calgaryherald.com
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Hyundai Takes Top Honors at 16th Annual Urban Wheel Awards
The Velostar was named Urban Car of the Year, and the company's Hope on Wheels program was honored the year's best social responsibility project.
Fountain Valley-based Hyundai America was honored in two major categories during the Urban Wheel Awards, held last week in Detroit.
The company's Hope on Wheels project took the honors as 2012's best corporate social responsibilty project of the year. Hope on Wheels is the united effort of Hyundai and its more than 800 dealers to raise awareness for pediatric cancer. Last year, Hope on Wheels launched its most comprehensive effort yet in the fight against pediatric cancer and donated $20 million to pediatric cancer hospitals and research institutions nationwide.
The company's lastest crossover, the Velostar, was named the Urban Car of Year for 2012. The Urban Wheel Awards judging panel spent several months selecting the most stylish, practical and attainable vehicles by driving dozens of cars and trucks in a variety of North American urban settings before selecting the winners for each category.
"We are honored and humbled by the awards Hyundai received and we commend the Urban Wheel Awards for their efforts for inclusion and corporate social responsibility in the automotive industry," said Zafar Brooks, Director, Government Relations and Diversity Outreach, Hyundai Motor America. "At Hyundai, we work to provide vehicles that appeal to today’s diverse consumers as well as strive to be a positive corporate citizen. One of our top CSR priorities is the fight against pediatric cancer, as too many of our country’s children are being lost to this disease every day."
Source: fountainvalley.patch.com
Friday, January 13, 2012
2013 Hyundai Veloster turbo: Sporty subcompact hatchback
On sale this summer
Hyundai's nifty Veloster sporty hatchback gets a welcome power boost with a 201-horsepower turbocharged model for 2013.
The muscular 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine also produces 195 pound-feet of torque from just 1,750 r.p.m. Six-speed manual and automatic transmissions are available.
With a curb weight starting at just 2,800 pounds, the Veloster turbo's 14 pounds/horsepower is a better power-to-weight ratio than sporty small cars like the Volkswagen GTI and Honda Civic Si, Hyundai said.
The Veloster turbo will offer a unique matte gray paint, 18-inch alloy wheels, projector headlights, LED taillights, fog lights and ground effect trim. Interior changes include leather seats with "Turbo" stitched into the backs and a black interior with blue accents.
Hyundai's Genesis coupe also gets upgrades for 2013. The power of its 2.0-liter turbo and 3.8-liter V6 engines rises to 274 and 348 horsepower, respectively. A new eight-speed automatic transmission is available in addition to a six-speed manual. The Genesis coupe also offers Hyundai's new Blue Link telematics system.
Visual changes include a new grille, LED taillights and daytime running lights.
Source: freep.com
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Monday, January 9, 2012
Congratulations to the Hyundai Elantra for winning the 2012 North American Car of the Year award!
DETROIT — The Hyundai Elantra edged out the Ford Focus and Volkwagen Passat Monday to win the 2012 North American Car of the Year award.
The prestigious industry award was announced at the start of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, which hosts media previews this week and opens to the public on Saturday.
The Land Rover Range Rover Evoque won the North American Truck of the Year, beating the BMW X3 and Honda CR-V. The Evoque, which starts at $43,995, gets an estimated 18 miles per gallon in city driving and 28 mpg on the highway.
Jaguar Land Rover North America President Andy Goss said it’s a tremendous honor and humbling for the company, which has had had finalists but never a winner in the 19th annual independent awards program.
“We’re going to market the hell out of this,” said a smiling Goss on a stage above the four-cylinder sport-utility vehicle. The U.S. is the world’s largest Range Rover market.
Fifty automotive journalists voted on the winning vehicles from a group of finalists, and the vehicles must be all new or substantially changed to be eligible. Organizers accept no advertising, though automakers capitalize on the marketing value of the honors.
John Krafcik, Hyundai’s North American CEO, said the award won’t help the compact’s sales much because the company already is selling as many Elantras as it can make at its factory in Montgomery, Ala. But the award should help solidify the brand’s image in the eyes of the American public, especially in the highly competitive compact car segment.
“It should be helpful for our brand going forward,” he said.
The Elantra, which starts at $16,445, gets an estimated 33 mpg.
The company is looking at ways to boost production at the Montgomery plant, but Krafcik said Hyundai plans to focus on maintaining quality at the factory before deciding on any increases.
Hyundai sold more than 186,000 Elantras last year, nearly a 41 percent increase over 2010 figures.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: washingtonpost.com
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Hyundai has another record-breaking year for production, sales
Another year, another Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama production record and another sales record for Hyundai Motor America. And the records weren't just broken, they were smashed.
Sales of Hyundai Motor America vehicles in 2011 were up 20 percent over 2010's record-breaking sales year.
Hyundai's U.S. sales of the Montgomery-made Sonata and Elantra were up 15 and 41 percent, respectively, in 2011.
Meanwhile, production of the two vehicles was up a combined 41.8 percent in 2011, according to numbers released this week. That increase was possible in part by shifting production of the Hyundai Santa Fe to Kia Motor America's West Point, Ga., plant in 2010.
In all, HMMA produced 12.5 percent more vehicles in 2011 than it did in 2010.
But sales were so high that even with the Montgomery plant working two 10-hour shifts five days a week for most of 2011, many vehicles had to be imported from South Korea.
Hyundai sold 186,361 Elantras last year while HMMA produced 78,188 for sale in the U.S. Meanwhile, HMMA produced 209,424 Sonatas for American dealerships; 225,961 Sonatas were sold. The Sonata Hybrid is made in South Korea.
HMMA is one of the River Region's largest employers with about 2,600 employees. In 2010, HMMA and its suppliers' total economic impact on the state was estimated at $3.8 billion. Its expanded engine plant, a $173 million investment, will open soon.
But if Hyundai has plans for further expansion, those plans haven't been announced. A year ago, John Krafcik, Hyundai Motor America CEO, hinted at a possible second U.S. plant to boost production. He said a decision probably would be made after 2011.
Hyundai representatives could not be reached Wednesday to discuss any possible expansion plans.
But Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said that he hasn't had any conversations along those lines.
"We are ready, willing and able to accommodate them when they decide they are ready willing and able," he said.
He called the recent sales figures a "tribute to the company."
"We commend and we congratulate Hyundai for the great success they have had," Strange said.
For the month of December, Hyundai's overall U.S. sales were up 13 percent over December 2010.
"December was another record-setting month and 2011 a record-setting year for Hyundai," Krafcik said in a news release Wednesday. "Hyundai sold a record 645,691 units this year, built over 420,000 cars right here in the U.S., and achieved an industry-leading 36.1 miles per gallon (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) level doing it.
"Sonata's retail sales performance in 2011 was a real highlight for us. Along with Camry, Accord, Civic, and possibly Altima, the Hyundai Sonata was one of only five cars in the entire industry with retail sales (excluding fleet) over 200,000 units."
There were two Hyundai makes that saw a decrease in sales last year. The Santa Fe, down slightly from 76,680 to 2010 to 74,391 in 2011, and the Azera.
But Hyundai's premium models performed well, according to the company, with Genesis sales increasing 13 percent over 2010. The Equus had sales of 3,193 in its very first year.
Kia, Hyundai's sister company, saw a 36.3 percent sales increase in 2011.
Source: montgomeryadvertiser.com
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)