It should be as plain as the nose on your face that Hyundai Motors is a winner. When combined with its Korean cousin, Kia, the Hyundai Kia Automotive Group is ranked as the fourth largest automaker in sales, behind GM, Toyota and Volkswagen, but ahead of the Ford Motor Company, Chrysler and Honda. Quite suddenly, the South Korean automotive manufacturer is a force to be reckoned with, a company on a quest to overtake Toyota and eventually lead the global automotive market.
Single handedly, Hyundai-Kia is shaping the auto industry, forcing competitors to reexamine product offers to build cars that consumers want. The following are some ways explaining how Hyundai is dictating how everyone else should build and sell cars:
Hyundai offers value — Smartly, Hyundai continues to price its cars slightly below competing models, offer sticker prices about 3 to 5 percent lower than comparable models. But, the savings are even more significant because Hyundai cars offer higher content or trim levels than similar models. For example, the Hyundai Elantra offers a six-speed automatic transmission, heated seats and top of the range gas mileage, beating Toyota at its own game. The Toyota Corolla, incidentally is getting updated faster because the current Elantra is quite simply the better car.
Hyundai offers an amazing warranty — What better way to tell customers that you back them by offering a warranty that no else is matching? The Hyundai 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty covers powertrain parts (engine and transmission) and its 5-year, 60,000 mile warranty covers many other Hyundai parts. A 7-year rust warranty also included.
Hyundai guarantees trade-in value — Buy a Hyundai today and the automaker will guarantee what it will be worth two, three or four years from now. This guaranteed trade-in value is something no other manufacturer is offering and is a “peace of mind” strategy for new car buyers. No longer will customers have to worry that a car they purchase today will drop precipitously in value tomorrow.
Hyundai offers excitement — Hyundai has employed a European strategy for selling its cars in America, one that seems to be working. In Europe, Mercedes and BMW sell a wide variety of vehicles, not just luxury cars under the same label, but they wouldn’t dare do that in the United States. Hyundai has taken a bold approach by selling its Genesis and Equus lines under the Hyundai brand and is successfully selling upscale, even luxury models in the same showrooms as its small cars.
Hyundai certainly isn’t perfect, but the automaker has proven that it has the right strategy in place a winning formula other automakers should adopt. Sales of Hyundai and Kia models continued to rise in the Great Recession, a feat only Subaru can claim. All three brands have dared to exploit the market, by giving customers value, reliability and quality, something every manufacturer should keep in mind going forward.
