Hyundai believes a minivan doesn’t have to be boxy and it plans to prove it as the Paris auto show.
It will show a smaller, more stylish “multi purpose vehicle” that it says is a “striking departure” from mere boxiness.
Designed at Hyundai’s European R&D center in Rüsselsheim, Germany, the ix20 is the second European car to adopt Hyundai’s new “fluidic sculpture” design language. The ix20 will go on sale in the fourth quarter of 2010 in Europe, and there is no word on its prospects in the U.S.
Hyundai and its dealers plan to contribute $6.8 million this month to Hyundai’s Hope on Wheels, a childhood cancer charity backed by Hyundai U.S. CEO John Krafcik.
Every time someone buys a Hyundai this month, the charity will get $200. You can learn more and contribute here.
Krafcik became passionate about what he sees as the overlooked problem of kids with cancer after his son had a condition that could have been — but turned out not to be — cancer.
His research showed that 40 children are diagnosed with cancer daily — one or two classrooms worth of kids. And cancer is the leading cause of death by disease of childred age 1 to 4.
The eagerly awaited replacement for Hyundai’s Tiburon sporty coupe will probably debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next January. The car takes its looks from Hyundai’s well-received Veloster concept vehicles.
The inexpensive Tiburon became a favorite among enthusiasts for its low price and eye-catching looks. It was Hyundai’s signature vehicle long before the Korean automaker started building hits like the 2011 Sonata and 2010 Tucson.
The new car will retain the Tiburon’s front-wheel drive layout, leaving rear-drive for Hyundai’s larger and more powerful Genesis sport coupe.
Separately, Hyundai plans to unveil its new Elantra compact at the Los Angeles auto show in November.
Both cars will build on the striking design theme Hyundai began with the Tucson and Sonata. They are to go on sale in 2011.
Read more: Mark Phelan’s corner: Hyundai’s Tiburon to make January debut in Detroit | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
Hyundai Motor Co., which has been gaining market share in the U.S., is moving production of its Santa Fe sport-utility vehicle from its plant in Alabama to a new plant owned by affiliate Kia Motors Corp. in Georgia, a Hyundai spokesman said Tuesday.
The move is intended to help fill Kia’s plant and give Hyundai more capacity to make its Sonata sedan in Alabama.
Production of the Santa Fe will begin sometime this fall at the West Point, Ga., plant that opened in February and now makes the Kia Sorrento. Hyundai owns 34% of Kia, which are both South Korea-based auto makers. The move will free up nearly 100,000 units of capacity at Hyundai’s Montgomery, Ala., plant to build Sonata sedans, which are selling rapidly, said Chris Hosford, a company spokesman.
Hyundai’s U.S. market share has risen to 4.7% through July of this year from 3% at the end of 2008. It was one of only three car makers, along with Kia and Subaru, to post a sales increase in 2009 as the U.S. auto market collapsed.
Hyundai joins other car makers seeking to boost their U.S. production capacity as the vehicle market has rebounded.
Volkswagen AG is building a plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., scheduled to open next year, which will be the first U.S. factory for the German car maker since it closed a plant near Pittsburgh in 1988. Toyota Motor Corp. is finishing a plant to make Corollas in Blue Springs, Miss., and General Motors Co. plans to reopen a plant in Orion, Mich., to make compact cars.
Hyundai is at full capacity at its plant in Montgomery. John Krafcik, chief executive of Hyundai’s U.S. operations, said sales of the Sonata, which was redesigned this year, are being held back by lack of supply. Sonata sales were up 45% this year through July. All Sonatas sold in the U.S. are made in this country.
Mr. Krafcik estimated in an interview last week that Hyundai is likely to need to increase its annual production of Sonatas and other models by 100,000 vehicles within two years, due to rising demand as U.S. auto sales recover. Hyundai made 116,569 Sonatas in the U.S. this year through July.
The Kia plant was built with the ability to make 300,000 cars a year and currently makes only the Sorrento, which is based on the same basic components as Hyundai’s Santa Fe SUV. After production of the Santa Fe begins there, the plant still will have excess capacity but there are no announced plans to add other Kia or Hyundai production.
Meanwhile Tuesday, U.S. regulators said they are investigating a reported steering problem with the Sonata. The alleged defect, which affects about 16,300 vehicles, involves the detachment of a steering shaft, resulting in a loss of steering capability, according to documents posted Tuesday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
No accidents have been linked to the reported defect.
Hyundai spokesman Jim Trainor said two Sonata owners reported similar steering problems to dealerships and that the auto maker fixed those vehicles. He said the company plans to cooperate with the government investigation.
The 2011 Hyundai Genesis luxury sedan receives standard Technology Package and 10 more horsepower for new model year.
Hyundai announced it has added more content and a 10 more ponies to its Genesis premium sedan. The 2011 Hyundai Genesis, equipped with 4.6L V8 engine, now packs 385 horsepower on premium unleaded fuel (or 378 on regular fuel). According to Hyundai Motor America, the V8 powered 2011 Genesis luxury sedan propels from zero to 60 miles per hour in only 5,3 seconds – that’s 0,4 second better than 2010 Genesis sedan!
The award-winning 4.6L V8 Tau engine delivers more horsepower and better torque than other V8 engines found on luxury sedans, such as Audi A8 or Lexus GS460. In addition the V8 Tau also delivers more hp per liter than any of these V8 competitors!
For the 2011 model year, Hyundai has further enhanced the astonishing list of standard equipment in the Genesis 4.6 by adding more premium features as standard equipment. The 2011 Hyundai Genesis 4.6 is now available with features that were previously optional.
Those include smart cruise control, heated and cooled driver seat, Lexicon surround-sound audio system with added 17 speakers, navigation System featuring the intuitive Driver Information System (DIS) with 8-inch screen, electronic parking brake, parking assistance system, adaptive front lighting system, Xenon high-intensity discharge headlights and rear-view camera and parking sensors at front and rear.
The 2011 Genesis 3.8 retains the same content as the 2010 Genesis luxury sedan, and great starting price of $33,000, while the 2011 Hyundai Genesis 4.6 now starts at $43.000 (excluding freight). [Source: Hyundai]
Kelley Blue Book’s Kbb.com Brand Watch reports that for the first time ever, Hyundai has made the list of top five most-considered brands. In Q2 2010 Hyundai brand consideration surged nearly six percentage points in the non-luxury coupe/sedan/hatchback segment. Hyundai now garners 29 percent of the total consideration among shoppers of this segment, beating out top competitors like Nissan.
Kelley Blue Book’s Brand Watch is an ongoing study tracking and trending consumer perceptions, detailing strengths and weaknesses of makes within each segment.
“Hyundai is truly on a roll,” said James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com. “Hyundai has proven that when you make dynamic, exciting and affordable products that appeal to the new-car shopping masses, consumer perception begins to change and subsequently, sales will follow.”
Kelley Blue Book’s Kbb.com Q2 2010 Brand Watch was fielded to more than 3,000 in-market new-car shoppers on Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com from April 6 – June 17, 2010. Q2 findings reveal that new-car shoppers rank durability/reliability, driving comfort, fuel efficiency, driving performance and safety (respectively) as the top five important factors while shopping for their next new vehicle.
“Being named one of Kbb.com’s top five most-considered brands truly demonstrates Hyundai’s continued commitment to delivering stylish, fuel efficient and affordable vehicles,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president of corporate and product planning, Hyundai Motor America. “As seen with our recent Tucson and Sonata models, Hyundai is committed to providing quality vehicles with class-leading safety technologies and performance features. Add to that our 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty and complimentary Roadside Assistance and it is clear why Hyundai’s consumer appeal is growing.”
Japan’s automakers know a threat when they see one, and based on their words, it sure isn’t in Michigan. Motown is fleeting image in the Japanese carmakers’ rearview mirrors, which they’re now nervously checking for a budding South Korean juggernaut. Honda CEO Takanobu Ito minced no words when he told the Associated Press, “Hyundai is awesome. They are undoubtedly a threat because their products are cheap, and the quality is improving.” The numbers seem to bear that out, as Hyundai and its corporate sibling, Kia, continue to show substantial sales chart improvements in key markets like the Europe and the US, where it continues to show strong growth while many other automakers look at double-digit shortfalls year-over-year. Nissan’s Shiro Nakamura echoes Honda’s Ito when it comes to identifying Japan’s new boogeyman, “Hyundai is the biggest threat for the Japanese automakers. They have the technology, but they seem to have cheaper labour.”
Hyundai, once basically a joke (we all remember such legendary products as the Excel, pictured above), is catching the Japanese by beating them at their own game — offering a mix of value and quality that’s hard for shoppers to ignore. Japan knows it needs to defend itself, too. After all, once upon a time, they were what Hyundai is now. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t too long ago that one could chuckle at Honda’s initial foray into the States. We know how that turned out. Now you have to wonder how long it’ll be until we see quotes from Hyundai’s leadership talking about the Chinese the way Nissan and Japan talk about Hyundai.
Hyundai Sonata was the most-shopped vehicle in May according to data from Compete, a Kantar Media company. Sonata was on more shopping lists (130,000) than any vehicle in the industry, topping perennial leaders like Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Honda Civic and Ford Fusion according to Compete’s analysis of website traffic patterns.
Demand for Hyundai hit an all-time high of 324,000 shoppers on the strength of Sonata and the all-new 2010 Tucson. This drove Hyundai’s share of market interest (SMI) to 11.6 percent, up from 7.4 percent in Dec. 2009. That growth propelled Hyundai past Nissan (11.2 percent) and closer to Honda (12.9 percent) and Toyota (14.2 percent). Industry-wide, May 2010 shopper volume (2.8 million) was the strongest since February 2008.
“Consumers are discovering that the all-new 2011 Sonata builds on the nameplate’s legacy of value with exciting design, best-in-class fuel economy and outstanding residual value,” said Scott Margason, director of product planning, Hyundai Motor America. “The combination makes Sonata a top contender in the competitive mid-size category, so we are pleased, but not surprised, by the market reception so far.”
Hyundai’s all-new 2011 Sonata represents a modern approach to the traditional midsize sedan segment by using only advanced four-cylinder engines, emotional design and luxury features offered with Hyundai’s strong value proposition. The Sonata launched with a new Theta II 2.4-liter gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine and in-house six-speed automatic transmission. The vehicle offers class-leading fuel economy of 22 mpg city/35 mpg highway and 198 horsepower standard. Both hybrid and turbo powertrain options will be available at the end of the year.
“We saw interest rising for the Sonata immediately after its introduction around the Super Bowl, and it has stayed red hot ever since,” said Dennis Bulgarelli, director of Automotive at Compete. “Not only are we seeing prospects put Hyundai on their shopping lists in record numbers, we’re also seeing Hyundai do a great job converting those shoppers to buyers. Its May sales of nearly 50,000 were 33 percent higher than a year ago, with Sonata sales nearly doubling year-over-year.”
If you’re fond of driving (and putting, too), a visit to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Alabama is a little slice of paradise here on earth, encompassing 11 sites and nearly 470 holes of championship-caliber play. And it turns out that if you’re fond of that other kind of driving—the kind that involves four wheels—the trip can be just as heavenly. Especially if you’ve got the keys to a Hyundai Genesis in your golf bag.
That’s something the editors at Car and Driver found out recently when they took to the Jones trail to see how the Genesis 3.8 stacks up against three key rivals—the Ford Taurus Limited, Buick LaCrosse CXS and Lexus ES350—in a comparison of V6 sedans priced under $40,000. Unfortunately for that trio, however, it wasn’t much of a comparison.
From the very first tee, as the magazine’s scribes note, “only one car, the Genesis, rides atop a platform conceived specifically for it—that is, for a luxury sedan rather than for a whole clan of variously badged family sedans.”
The Hyundai also got kudos for its all-around performance, besting the other sedans in lateral grip, responsiveness, brake feel, stopping distance and both 0-60 and quarter-mile times. Further, while giving a well-earned shout-out to the V8-powered Genesis in their long-term fleet, Car and Driver editors came away ready to recommend the V6 model being tested here for its ability to put up an EPA line of 18 mpg city/27 mpg highway/21 mpg combined.
Also notable: The rear seats of the Genesis were just as comfortable as those in the bigger Taurus, courtesy of the Hyundai’s longer wheel base, and the Genesis also matched the Lexus in terms of in-cabin ergonomics. As the Car and Driver story points out, there’s another advantage, too: The Genesis continues its automaker’s long tradition of “shaming the competition with more features and amenities at no extra cost.”
In other words, if you really want to drive in style today—whether it’s on the fairway or on the highway—be sure to swing by your local Hyundai dealership to check out the Hyundai Genesis 3.8 first.
Posted By: GC
Hyundai Motor America today completed the first of a multiphase program to provide customers with more convenience and assurance when planning and scheduling service for their Hyundai. Through an industry-leading customer relationship management platform, the Hyundai Online Service Scheduling Program will not only streamline the process for customers, but will significantly improve scheduling and resource utilization for dealerships, resulting in improved customer service and more efficient service operations. The program effectively extends Hyundai Assurance, which includes the 5-year/60,000-mile fully transferable new vehicle warranty, Hyundai’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty and 5-years of complimentary Roadside Assistance, through the entire service experience for Hyundai owners.
The first phase of the Online Service Scheduling Program is called Electronic Service Menus (ESM). Electronic Service Menus provide make-, model- and even VIN-specific information about the service requirements for an owner’s vehicle. The online system, available 24/7, will clearly explain different service options, including manufacturer-recommended maintenance and premium dealer offers. Electronic Service Menus have now been rolled out to nearly 800 Hyundai dealerships in the U.S. and are accessible through www.hyundaiusa.com.
Hyundai’s implementation of the Online Service Scheduling Program precedes the launch of its all-new flagship, the Equus premium sedan. With Equus, Hyundai is ushering in new customer relationship management tools that save owners both time and money. Examples include valet service for appointments and an iPad that will contain the entire Equus owner’s manual. Hyundai’s Online Service Scheduling Program is yet another result of this dedicated effort to enhance the customer experience. It will be fully implemented by the end of 2010 across Hyundai’s U.S. dealer network and be available to every Hyundai owner.
“Hyundai’s Online Service Scheduling Program will bring the owner, dealer and manufacturer into alignment when it comes to after-sales service and maintenance,” said Barry Ratzlaff, director of service operations, Hyundai Motor America. “Through the online portal Hyundai owners can access the full range of service options and recommended pricing for their vehicle, providing assurance that their service needs are exceeded. You don’t have to own a luxury car to get treated to the luxury service experience.”
In phase two of the implementation, Electronic Service Menus will be integrated with Online Service Scheduling, management reporting and certified DMS connectivity. This instant connection to local Hyundai dealerships’ service departments ensures that both the expertise and equipment will be available at the dealership when customers make their appointment, eliminating needless delays and improving the utilization of fixed assets in the shop. Owners can also print itemized service menus on demand through an easy-to-use web interface, and sign up for personalized appointment notifications and repair status sent by e-mail and text.
In the final phase, Hyundai dealers will have the option of automating and integrating Electronic Service Menus and Online Service Scheduling with call center and Smartphone scheduling, comprehensive shop control, greeter boards and email/text-based service marketing on a unified web-based platform. By integrating both the customer-facing and back-end technology, Hyundai dealers can further improve the customer service experience and generate increased service and parts revenue by increasing retention and improving efficiency.
