Hyundai’s Suprising Leap Forward
I’m not the only one left scratching my head I hope. As we keep seeing numbers decline on total sales, Hyundai keeps heaping on the good news, posting gains as compared to February of last year. Even more amazing, Hyundai is one of three automakers that did post a gain, the other two being Subaru and Kia. Why? Aggressive marketing with their new Hyundai Assurance plan, and two very well engineered and equally well priced cars, the Genesis Sedan and the Genesis Coupe. According to this article, people are trading in their BMW 5-series to get the lower priced, but nearly just as well equipped Genesis Sedan. Ouch!
The idea of a luxury Hyundai may sound like an oxymoron to many people, given the brand’s low-cost image. Accordingly, the company took a relatively cautious approach to the launch of the Genesis saloon, its first luxury car, last year. So far it has been made available in only a few markets, including South Korea and America. Launching a new luxury vehicle in the midst of a recession seemed foolhardy, but Hyundai has benefited from consumers’ desire to “trade down” in hard times. The Genesis, which starts at $32,250, costs around $13,500 less than a comparable BMW. John Krafcik, the boss of Hyundai’s American arm, says his dealers are taking a sizeable number of more expensive luxury cars in part-exchange for the Genesis, notably the 5-series BMW.
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